A FRENCH OPINION OF THE BRITISH ARMY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 333, 25 February 1874, Page 3

A FRENCH OPINION OF THE BRITISH ARMY.

M. de-Mn*" s »*" efrance y» tne cavalry omcer sent by the French Government to England in July, 1871, to watch the autumu manoeuvres, and report to the French Government the method and result of Mr. CardwelFs reorganization of the military resources of Great Britain, has sent in a report which may be taken as that of a "capable, independent, and un-biased judge " He found the effective force of the British army to be 886,19(5 men, independent of the militia and volunteers raised in the various Colonies. This he says, "is probably the most really numerous army that exists amongst those maintained by civilized nations." He prefers the old English sytem of promotion by purchase. De Mundat Grancey was especially struck with the union which reigns among English officers, and by the high tone of character and conduct which he observed to prevail in all grades of command. He is careful to explain to his French comrades in arms that every holder of a commission in the British army is a gentleman, and as the meaning of that word seems to be imperfectly understood in France, he is. at some pains to define it. It implies in the first place, that the bearer of this title has re ceived an education involving the inculcation of the sentiment of duty, of responsibility, of self-reliance, and a salutary horror of falsehood. Thus there is built up a character which is is described as follows : — "A gentleman is one who inhabits a glass house ; in other words, he is a man who, in all that is known of his life, has nothing to disavow in the midst of a society which is in the habit of respecting at least outwardly, all that is respectable according to the ten commandments of God

Are we a nation of shopkeepers, and has the spirit of the English people been impaired "by the cankers of a calm world and a long peace ;" Our French cavalry captain replies to the question with an emphatic "No" He says — "Our neighbours, in my opinion, represent the race which is at once the most military and the most warlike under the sun. He accounts for this upon ethnological grounds, and traces .the military tastes and aptitudes of the " island mastiffs " to the national character having engrained in it "the sentiment of obedience to the law, and the instinct of regularity of hierarchy, and of association," impelling us "to act together for a common object," while we have also "a liking for militaay parade." We are the most warlike of people, because no race " professes a more absolute or decided taste for violent exercises, a more profouud sense of the importance of sacrificing pleasure to health, or a more lively instinct for great corporeal exertion." In concluding this report, which was publicly read to the military circle at Versailles, on the 22nd and 23rd of May last, M. De Mundat Grancey reminds his military comrades that the institutions of Great Britiau are founded upon principles that are externally true and eternally disirable — those, namely of common sense ; and that every time France has discarded these she has met with a terrible fall. If she is to repair the disasters of the past, and enter upon a brilliant and beneficial career in the future, she must assimilate her system of public instruction to that of England. "We must impress upon our children," be says, " a respect for laws, human and divine. "We~nrast inspire "them with that fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom. We must give them all latitude and every facility for developing their limbs inculcating a taste for manly exercises, and thus endeavor to among ourselves those types so prevalent among our neighbors, of the gentleman, the military man, and the warrior." Our French captain of cavalry has evidently profited by his residence iv I ngianr 1 , to imbibe some of the national good sense, and if he can infect his countrymen with it, it will be all tre better for their own happiness, and foa the peace of the world.'