Surgeon there are much more heavy than at any of the others; so much so indeed as to render in our opinion the presence of an Assistant Surgeon very desirable. For Liverpool, be it remembered, is not only a Recruiting depôt for the King's army and for the East India Company's service also, but it is moreover the great place of transit for recruits and deserters and troops of all kinds to and from Ireland; so that it is never perhaps without some sick soldiers, and these often of the worst and most intractable description.

MAIDSTONE.

This is the Cavalry Depôt, on the staff of which a Veterinary Surgeon is also borne in addition to the Assistant Surgeon noticed in the Table.

PORTSMOUTH.

Whenever troops are about to embark on board of transports or other vessels in any port of the United Kingdom, the General or other officer commanding at such port is directed to cause the senior officer of the Medical Staff at or near the station, to repair on board each vessel, and make a most minute and particular inspection of the same, and report thereon to him previously to the embarkation of the troops. And similar visits, inspections, and reports are directed to be made whenever troops arrive in any port of these kingdoms for the purpose of disembarkation.

General Regulations, &c. 1822, pp. 309.

The preceding paragraph explains sufficiently the nature of the duties which the Staff Surgeon stationed at this place has to perform. After perusing it the professional reader, military or medical, will probably feel inclined to ask, by whom are those duties performed at Plymouth, where troops so frequently embark and disembark, but where, as may be seen by the Table, no Staff Medical Officer of any kind is at present stationed? To make amends for this, however, more than a double portion, both as to rank and numbers, is assigned to Cork, another station of the same kind.*

SANDHURST-ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE.

The establishment at this station consists of a Surgeon and Assistant-Surgeon; and less we presume would not be sufficient for the duties of the place, as an attempt made in 1829 to do away with the latter appointment, was abandoned as being, no doubt, found inexpedient.

As the Royal Military College is thus supplied with Medical officers from the regular Staff of the Army, we should like to know why the other Military Establishments of the empire are not placed upon the same footing with respect to medical aid. We allude here to Chelsea Hospital, to the Military Asylums at Chelsea and at Southampton, and to the Military School in Dublin; the medical officers of which all seem to hold their respective appointments rather as civilians than as military ment—that is, these appointments seem to be considered by all parties as permanent ones, and the services of the individuals holding them do not seem to be available for any other duties.

• We have not thought it necessary to include in the Table the sinecure appointments of Physician and Surgeon to the Garrison of Portsmouth; the former of which, with a salary of 9s. 6d. per day, has been held for the last twenty years, (since June 1811,) by the present Director-General, Sir James M‘Grigor.

+ These officers are, at Chelsea Hospital, a Physician, Surgeon, and AssistantSurgeon; at the Military Asylum, Chelsea, a Surgeon and Assistant-Surgeon; at the Military Asylum, Southampton, an Assistant-Surgeon; and at the Military School, Dublin, a Surgeon.

The Medical Officers of our domestic Military Establishments should either be permanently attached to those institutions, in which case they can have no claim to increase of pay or to promotion in the ariny; or they should be drawn in rotation from the unattached Staff of the army, and appointed to those institutions for

Now if these things be so, the sooner they are corrected the better, for such anomalous distinctions are not only unjust in themselves but decidedly injurious to the public service-and the same may be said with truth of other medical appointments both at home and abroad, which though held by men under commissions purely military, are yet held by them for a long succession of years, to the exclusion of others equally entitled to share in their advantages.

IRELAND-DUBLIN.

Inspectors-General, or Officers of the highest rank,* 3.

Deputy-Inspector-General, 1.—Ireland has been emphatically called the land of jobs, and the Military Medical department, as we shall presently see, furnishes no exception to the general rule. For what but a system of jobbing could maintain in Dublin at this moment a medical establishment consisting of a Director-General, a Physician-General, a SurgeonGeneral, and a Deputy-Inspector-General; and all these appointments moreover (the first always excepted†) held by men whose time is and always has been devoted to private practice, and who have in reality no military duties of any kind to perform. It is true there is a General Hospital in Dublin which these dignitaries occasionally condescend to visit ;‡ and now and then perhaps one or other is called upon to go through the ceremony of presiding at a Medical Board on some sick officer or soldier; or invited to meet some Regimental Surgeon of the Garrison in consultation on some doubtful or dangerous case of disease—but beyond this we assert these gentlemen have nothing to do with the Army, and if they had, their time is too much occupied with other matters to admit of their attending to it. Let the whole then be swept away, and let the Medical officers of the Army be no longer insulted by seeing men without claims and without duties exalted over their heads, and endowed with the possession of rank and emoluments, for which those who have grown old in the service might vainly aspire.§

Nor must the hand of reform be checked until all traces of a distinct and independent establishment are entirely done away with; and an efficient, uniform, and responsible system of medical government introduced, instead of the anomalous and unsatisfactory system which now prevails. Instead of a provincial Director-General then with undefined and in some respects unlimited authority, let us have an Inspector-General, or even a DeputyInspector-General, drawn from the ranks of the Army, and in all respects subordinate to the head of the Department in London. And instead of the Physician-General, the Surgeon-General, and the Deputy-InspectorGeneral, who have hitherto done so little for the public and for whom the public has already done so much, let us have one or two Staff Surgeons, to take charge of the Royal Hospital and attend upon the unattached Staff of the Garrison who may require their aid.

Staff-Surgeon, 1.-This officer is attached to the Recruiting Depôt at this station, for the purposes already noticed under the head of Bristol.

limited periods, as officers now are, or ought to be, to other stations. Between these two there is no middle course, for no man belonging to one class can have any just claim to participate in advantages peculiar to the other.

* Viz. Director-General, Physician-General, and Surgeon-General.-Vide Introductory Remarks, and Observations under the head of London.

+ Viz. the Director-General Doctor Renny; who has long been at the head of the Medical Department of Ireland, and whose zeal, ability and integrity as a public officer have never been impeached or suspected.

General Hospital, viz. the Royal Military Hospital in the Phoenix-Park.

§ The Physician-General and Surgeon-General hold their offices by patents, the first of which was issued so early as 1660, and the last so late as 1820!!! The pay of each, originally ten shillings per day, is now about twenty; that is, about what a regimental Surgeon receives after twenty years of actual service.

Assistant-Surgeon, Deputy Purveyor, and Apothecary, 1.-These gentlemen are all employed at the Royal Hospital, where they no doubt enjoy very comfortable berths. It is time however the advantages they enjoy should be extended to others, and that they in turn should be permitted to see a little of the world elsewhere.

With respect to the offices of Purveyor and Apothecary we have nothing to add to the observations already made on these points under the head of London.

CORK.

Deputy-Inspector-General.-We have here another Medical officer, invested with high rank, in the receipt of full-pay, and at the same time quietly and permanently settled in private life as a resident inhabitant. Surely such examples as these should be sufficient to attract the attention of those in authority, and bring forth a peremptory order, for nothing else will do, that no medical appointment on the Staff shall be held by any one individual longer than for a given period, and that all officers on full-pay shall pass in rotation from one station to another, and each in turn be employed abroad as well as at home.

With respect to the medical duties to be discharged at Cork, we may confidently say there are none which require the presence of a Deputy-Inspector-General-a Staff-Surgeon being employed at Portsmouth for the very same purpose, namely the inspection of Troops and Transports on their arrival and departure, &c. It is true there is a subordinate Staff at Cork which Portsmouth has not, and an officer of superior rank, it may be alleged, is required there in consequence. But we doubt much the necessity of maintaining any such establishment as that here alluded to, and deny altogether that a Deputy-Inspector should be at the head of it, under existing circumstances, if it be maintained.-Vide Chatham and Portsmouth.

Staff-Surgeon.-This officer is attached to the Recruiting Depôt at this station, for the purposes already noticed under the head of Bristol.

Assistant-Surgeons, 4; Deputy-Purveyor, 1; Apothecary, 1.-We have already expressed our doubts as to the necessity of retaining all these gentlemen at Cork, there being no General Hospital there, nor any duties that we are aware of for them to discharge, except perhaps when troops are about to embark or sail thence for some foreign station. If this be true, Dublin perhaps would be a better place for the residence of any supernumerary Assistant Surgeons it may be deemed necessary to retain in Ireland, as their leisure hours might there be more usefully employed, and their services rendered more available for general purposes. With respect to the Purveyor and Apothecary we must refer to what has been already said on these points under the head of London; but may add that two such officers cannot well under any existing circumstances be deemed necessary at this station.

NEWRY.

This is our last station, a Recruiting Depôt with its Surgeon, and as usual in Ireland with the same Surgeon for a long period of time-Is not this too bad?

We must here bring to a conclusion for the present the observations we have to offer on our Medical Establishments. The subject however is by no means exhausted, nor have we any intention of abandoning it in its present state. On the contrary much still remains to be investigated and made known with respect to the Home Department, whilst the Foreign is as yet altogether untouched. To this last then we shall next direct the reader's attention, as the present communication would be in a manner imperfect if not accompanied, or followed, by a similar view of our foreign Medical Establishments.

London, May 1831.

M. M.

REVIEWS AND CRITICAL NOTICES.

ON A NEW ARMAMENT FOR SHIPS OF WAR-AND RAZEEING

THE Science of Naval architecture is a study of paramount importance to the British nation; nor is the most suitable and effective equipment of our ships a question less important than their perfect construction. Upon these grounds, and especially at the present moment, the opinions of scientific men, deduced from experiment and applicable to practice, are entitled to impartial consideration.

Two Pamphlets* on the structure and armament of our ships of war, have been recently put forward by Mr. S. Read, of Chatham Dock-yard, avowedly with the double view of suggesting a more efficient artillery for frigates and ships of the line, and of showing cause against the system of razéeing; the author proposing to obviate the latter by a modification of the former. This he would effect by diminishing the number of the guns, and increasing their range and weight of metal.

In the course of the American war, the lamentable effects of arming our ships with carronades and guns of small calibre were apparent; the enemy, by the superiority of their sailing, chose their own distance, and kept out of reach of our 32-pounder carronades until they had completely disabled our ships with their long 24-pounders, and then taking a position on the quarter, had an easy conquest; what must have been the mortification of our brave, but unfortunate seamen, to find they had been reduced to a perfect wreck, scarcely returning a shot, while their enemy remained in every respect uninjured? Sir James Yeo, in his letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, dated 12th Sept. 1813, when on Lake Ontario, states that,

"The enemy's fleet, consisting of eleven sail, having a partial wind, succeeded in getting within range of their long 24 and 32-pounders, and having obtained the wind of us, I found it impossible to bring them to close action. We remained in this mortifying situation five hours, having only six guns in the fleet that would reach the enemy. Not a carronade was fired. At sunset, a breeze sprung up from the westward, when I manœuvred to oblige the enemy to meet us on equal terms. This, however, he carefully avoided."

In this gallant officer's dispatch of the 15th of November following, he also mentions in strong terms "the deficiency of long guns in the Lake Erie squadron."

66

Tupinier, in his memoir on the French Navy, frequently referred to by the Author, affords a clue to the rage for razéeing; but his views would appear to have been misinterpreted by our Naval Administration; far from advocating the system, he pointedly condemns it; and after having obtained the "Guerrière" as a base for a construction de novo, proceeds in the following terms: Renouncing henceforward the construction of 74-gun ships of the line, the best use to make of those which we possess already, whether afloat or on the stocks, will be to arm such as are in good condition, &c. ;" and then details a new armament for them, recommending "to convert into 36-pounder frigates, like the Guerrière, such as stand in need of a thorough repair;" well knowing that the 74-gun ships, with their present armament, would be overmatched by the 84 and 92-gun ships of the present day, and that it would be advisable to let them be worn out in the service; and not

* Memoir on a New Armament for the 42 and 46-gun Frigates. By S. Read, one of the Foremen of Chatham Dock-yard, and formerly of the School of Naval Architecture.

Observations illustrative of a Memoir on a New Armament for the 42 and 46gun Frigates; also some Remarks on furnishing these, and other Ships, with a proportion of Bomb Cannon, in the shape of 68-pounder Carronades. By S. Read.

after the French system, to repair them as frigates. For Tupinier evidently acknowledges such a make-shift to be much inferior to frigates expressly constructed. In comparing French seventy-fours with English of the same dimensions, we should not lose sight of the inestimable advantage the former possess in having their hulls* 380 tons lighter.

Our Author, after detailing a new armament for our seventy-fours, goes on to say,

"But although according to the scale of building now adopted by our rivals, it would be the height of absurdity to perpetuate them as a numerous class of ships; yet, they may be still worn out as effective ships of the line. The ships of the British Navy should be remodelled, but not after the designs of foreigners; they should, on the contrary, take the lead in construction and equipment by a bold and scientific mode of proceeding founded on facts: never building more than one ship from a new design, before it has been ascertained how far the qualities of that ship have been found to answer the written estimates and expectations of its constructor, who should likewise be required to state his reasons for the same."

The Author here informs us in a note, that he is prepared to put into the field of liberal and open competition a construction draft for a corvette, carrying long 32-pounders.

"The most exact account of such an experiment should be registered; for if we do not know upon what grounds our future proceedings ought to be founded, how can we expect to regulate their effects any more than the effects of our previous actions ? Without data, Naval Construction, as well as every other department of science, notwithstanding general principles may be known, must be attended in its operations with an uncertainty as to the results of our proceedings highly to be deprecated. It is not in this way that a steady, or indeed, any progress can ever be reasonably expected to take place. It is not in this way that the illustrious Newton and his followers have gradually unfolded the mechanical laws of the uni- ́ verse. They have not achieved this splendid victory of mathematical science by the indulgence of baseless imaginations, but by the severe and patient study of facts, and by a constant reference to the motions and magnitudes of the heavenly bodies. In like manner, the true knowledge of the properties of ships can only be acquired by patiently collecting facts; bringing these facts under the dominion of mathematical analysis; and constantly referring the deductions made therefrom to the actual performance of these vast machines at sea."

Whilst we see our great rivals, the French, concentrating the efforts of their naval engineers for the improvement of their marine, (among whom may be mentioned Barons Lainé, Dupin, Rolland, Pestel, Forfait, Tupinier, &c.) we have left ours to the sole direction of one man. With the data, however, furnished by Tupinier, there is less chance of failure, unless he get entangled in some fanciful theory, such as fish-like and duck-like forms for the bottoms of ships, fancies so fully exposed by Knowles.†

Our author goes on at some length to confute an objection that has been raised against his measure, that by the mixture of metal of the same calibre, but of different denominations, a mistake might arise in the cartridges; that one intended for a gun might be put into a carronade and vice-versa; but supposing such might be the case, the carronade has been repeatedly tried with a much larger quantity of powder, and is well able to bear the charge. A mixture of carronades and long guns has constantly existed in our service. The comparative calculations on his proposed armament are shown in the following table.

* Brand's Quarterly Journal of Science, No. 12, last series.

+ See that Gentleman's Lectures on Naval Architecture, delivered at the Royal Institution, May 1828, and published in Morgan and Creuze's Naval Papers.