RECENT CHANGES IN THE ART OF WAR.

[Reprinted from the EDINBURGH REVIEW, January 1866.]

IN TRACING the main currents of thought which influence our time, and their effects upon public policy, a strange disagreement is at first apparent between the desire for peace professed on all sides by publicists and statesmen, and the activity of every great Power in the improvement of the means of war. Very different are these days, it would seem, from those of the preceding generation, when a millennium of trade, unbroken by the clang of arms, was held by many thoughtful politicians to be the future condition of the civilised world,-when even in the military profession men of the highest education and intelligence were heard to declare that Europe would never again hear the tread of great armies in the field, and that the British soldier need henceforth prepare to meet no more disciplined enemy than the Maori or

11. Sur la formation des troupes pour le combat, par le général Jomini: Brussels, 1856. 2. Modern Armies; translated from the French of Marshal Marmont by Captain Lendy: London, 1865. 3. Études tactiques, par le général baron Ambert; 1ère série (Zorndorf et Austerlitz): Paris, 1865. 4. Tactics of the Three Arms, by Colonel Lippitt : New York, 1865. 5. Modern Warfare and Modern Artillery, by Colonel Macdougall: London, 1865. 6. The Manœuvres of Cavalry and Horse Artillery, by General M. Smith, C.B.: London, 1865. 7. Professional Papers of the Royal Engineers; new series, vol. xiv.: London, 1865. 8. Military Operations Explained and Illustrated, by Colonel Hamley, R.A.: London, 1866.

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the Sikh. Then all was stagnation within our fleet and army, as all was neglect without. India was looked on as the only field where military ability could be the stepping-stone to fame. Reduction and retrenchment were the order of the day; and, faithfully reflecting the national feeling in the national service, the officer regarded the few among his fellows who gave their spare hours to the study of their profession as mere eccentrics, led by some strange aberration of intellect into a pursuit tedious in itself and tending to no practical result.

Very different is the public sentiment of our time. Instead of a government commending itself to the country's approval on the score of a blind undistinguishing economy, a statesman, the most experienced and renowned of our age in foreign and domestic policy, not long before his death, avowed that the enlightened attention of the Ministry he directed had been systematically given to the care of our national armaments, and claimed their improvement and development as special grounds of public confidence. The present time,' said Lord Palmerston in his last manifesto to the Tiverton electors, is remarkable for the progressive application of the results of science to the operations of war, both by sea and by land; and this country has not in such matters lagged behind the other great Powers of the world.' his opponents gave the late Premier credit for knowing accurately how the national pulse beats, and for being well acquainted with what our neighbours are doing. And his assertions are borne out to the full by our increased expenditure for defences and by the formation of our self-created Volunteer army, as well

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as by the large share allotted to topics of military interest in the journals of the day, and by the attention paid to the progress of science in this particular direction by thoughtful men, both in and out of the service.

The art of war-to use the recognised term-is one of those sciences which time has seen by turns. improve, stand still, retrograde, and again take a sudden advance, side by side with the general civilisation to which its condition seems bound. The most recent events in the history of the world give us no hope of the speedy realisation of that Utopia, not long since dreamed of, where its use shall be unknown. And if it be acknowledged as a necessity of the existing state of things, its progress should follow closely that of other great branches of knowledge which affect the general good. For, viewed in its highest aspect, it is but the application of a nation's strength to the protection of the commerce, freedom, and order of its citizens; and recent abuse of warlike power for the mere purpose of aggression is but a fresh proof that to be independent it is necessary to avoid that decay of military resources which may invite attack. Happily, such pages of our history as the Indian Mutiny show that the advance of British wealth and science has in no measure diminished that spirit of personal sacrifice without which the warrior, though engaged in the fairest cause, would find but little honour paid to his profession. Steam, rifled arms, and railroads have not slain knighthood, nor taught us to undervalue the true soldier and his deeds.

But courage and patriotism are but of little avail