Untitled

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 82, 1 August 1877, Page 3

A correspondent of the "Pall Mall Gazette,'' writing- on the - prospects of ,the Turkish troops in the field the summer months as regards a commissariat, says undei-date April : — " In a fewweeks the fields wilLbe filled with green maize, cucumbers, and* melons-; v and with "these, added, to his ration of bread,the Turkish soldier asks^o other luxury, and will, live in the open air - and keep in health without tasting I ' a ' mouthful of cooked food from.month's end to month's end. He needs no spirits, and no tea Or other exotic. The Russian soldier is much less hardy ; alcohol has corroded the tissues of his nerves, and he' can only be kept on,3iis legs by an amount of care and feeding of which the Turkish soldier is entirely independent. It may be concluded, then, that the Government will be able 'to « maintain its present force .under arms during all the summer months without extraordinary effort. It is not here a questipm of the effect which such a necessity would have upon the 1 'general economy of the country, but merely of the ability »f the Government to keep its -forces together. ludeed, during these sumwer months it would be,- 1 calculate,- easier to maintain than to disband the army ; for the account has only to be settled when the disbanding comes, and meanwhile it runs on without greatly complicating the financial embarrassments of 'the Treasury."