the very early morning is usually chosen. The men are roused at half-past two or three, and parade half an hour later; the tents are struck, and carried on by the tent-bearers; coffee is served out, and the men march off by half-past three or four, and end at half-past seven. Everything is ready at the halting-ground, tents are pitched, and breakfast is prepared.

These very early marches are strongly advocated by many, and are opposed almost as strongly by some. In the West Indies, marching in the sun has always been more common than in the East. Much must depend on the locality, and the prevalence and time of hot land winds. Both in India and Algeria marches have been made at night; the evidence of the effects of this is discordant. The French have generally found it did not answer; men bear fatigue less well at night; and it is stated that the admissions into hospital have always increased among the French after night marching. Annesley's authority is also against night marching in India. On the other hand, it is stated by some that in India the march through the cool moonlight night has been found both pleasant and healthy.

Afternoon marches (commencing about two hours before sunset) have been tried in India, and often apparently with very good results.

Marching in Canada.-In 1814, during the war with America; in 1837, during the rebellion; and, in 1861-62, during the Trent excitement, winter marches were made by the troops, in all cases without loss. The following winter clothing was issued at home :-A sealskin cap with ear lappets; a woollen comforter; two woollen jerseys; two pairs of woollen drawers; a chamois leathern vest with arms; two pairs long woollen stockings to draw over the boots; sealskin mits; and a pair of jackboots. In Canada a pair of blankets and mocassins were added,' and, at the long halts, weak hot rum and water was served out. A quarter of a pound of meat was added to the ration. A hot meal was given before starting, another at mid-day, and another at night. The troops were extremely healthy. During exposure to cold, spirits must be avoided; hot coffee, tea, ginger tea, or hot weak wine and water, are the best; it is a good plan to rub the hands, feet, face, and neck with oil; it appears to lessen the radiation of heat and the cooling effect of winds.

1 See Inspector-General Muir's Report, Army Medical Reports, vol. iv., p. 378.

CHAPTER III.

THE EFFECTS OF MILITARY SERVICE.

THE influence of the various conditions of military life is shown by the records of sickness and mortality, and this must be noted in the various stations.

The recruit having entered the ranks, begins his service at home, and he is kept at his depôt for some time. He does not go on foreign service until he has completed his twentieth year. We should suppose his life would be a healthy one. It is a muscular, and, to a certain extent, an open-air life, yet without great exposure or excessive labor; the food is good (though there might be some improvement), the lodging is now becoming excellent, and the principles of sanitation of dwellings are carefully practised. Although the mode of clothing might be improved as regards pressure, still the material is very good. There is a freedom from the pecuniary anxiety which often presses so hardly on the civil artisan, and in illness the soldier receives more immediate and greater care than is usual in the class from which he comes.

There are some counterbalancing considerations. In a barrack, there is great compression of the population, and beyond a doubt the soldier has greatly suffered, and even now suffers, from the foul air of barrack rooms. But this danger is greatly lessening, owing to the exertions of the Barrack Improvement Commissioners, and, as is proved by the experience of some convict jails, can be altogether avoided.

Among the duties of the soldier is some amount of night-work; it is certain that this is a serious strain, and the Sanitary Commissioners, therefore, inserted in the "Medical Regulations" an order that the number of nights in bed should be carefully reported by medical officers. Major-General Sir Frederick Roberts, G.C.B., has lately called marked attention to the injurious effects of night duty and "sentry-go." Commanding officers should be informed how seriously the guard and sentry duties, conducted as they are in full dress, tell on the men if they are too frequent; one guard-day in five is quite often enough, and four nights in bed should be secured to the men. Exposure during guard and transition of temperature on passing from the hot air of the guard-room to the outside air are also causes of disease. The weights and accoutrements are heavy, but the valise equipment introduced by General Eyre's Committee has removed the evil of the old knapsack.

The habits of the soldier are unfavorable to health; in the infantry, especially, he has much spare time on his hands, and ennui presses on him. Ennui is, in fact, the great bane of armies; though it is less in our own than in many others. It is said to weigh heavily on the German, the Russian, and even on the French army. Hence, indeed, part of the restlessness

1 Nineteenth Century, November, 1882.

and one of the dangers of large standing armies. The Romans appear to have avoided this danger by making their distant legions stationary, and permitting marriage and settlement-in fact, by converting them into military colonies. We avoid it in part by our frequent changes of place, and our colonial and Indian service; but not the less, both at home and abroad, do idleness and ennui, the parents of all evils, lead the soldier into habits which sap his health. Not merely excessive smoking, drinking, and debauchery, but in the tropics mere laziness and inertia, have to be combated. Much is now being done by establishing reading-rooms, trades, industrial exhibitions, etc., and by the encouragement of athletic sports to occupy spare time, and already good results have been produced.

The establishment of trades, especially, which will not only interest the soldier, but benefit him pecuniarily, is a matter of great importance. It has long been asked why an army should not do all its own work; give the men the hope and opportunity of benefiting themselves, and ennui would no longer exist. In India, Lord Strathnairn did most essential service by the establishment of trades; and the system, after long discussion and many reports, is now being tried in England.

One of the proofs of ability for command and administration is the power of occupying men, not in routine, but in interesting and pleasant work, to such an extent that rest and idleness may be welcomed as a change, not felt as a burden. Constant mental and much bodily movement is a necessity for all men; it is for the officers to give to their men an impulse in the proper direction.

The last point which, probably, makes the soldier's life less healthy than it would otherwise be, is the depressing moral effect of severe and harassing discipline. In our own army in former years, it is impossible to doubt that discipline was not merely unnecessarily severe, but was absolutely savage. An enlightened public opinion has gradually altered this, and with good commanding officers, the discipline of some regiments is probably nearly perfect; that is to say, regular, systematic, and unfailing; but from its very justice and regularity, and from its judiciousness, not felt as irksome and oppressive by the men.

The general result of the life at home on soldiers must now be considered.

It is by no means easy to say whether soldiers enjoy as vigorous health as the classes from which they are drawn; the comparison of the number of sick, or of days' work lost by illness by artisans cannot be made, as soldiers often go into hospital for slight ailments which will not cause an artisan to give up work. The comparative amount of mortality seems the only available test, though it cannot be considered a very good one.

Following the order laid down in the chapter on STATISTICS, we have to consider

SECTION I.

THE LOSS OF STRENGTH BY DEATH AND INVALIDING, PER 1,000,

PER ANNUM.

A. BY DEATH.

It is to be understood that the mortality is here reckoned on the strength, that is, on the total number of healthy and sick persons actually serving during the time. The mortality on the sick alone is another

matter.

From the Parliamentary Statistical Returns of the Army (1840 and 1853, which include the years 1826-1846), we find that the mortality among the cavalry of the line was at that time about one-third more than among the civil male population at the same age (nearly as 15 to 101 per 1,000); among the Foot Guards it was more than double (very. nearly 20 per 1,000 as against 10); among the infantry of the line it was three-fourths more (or 18 per 1,000 as against 10).

The State was thus losing a large body of men annually in excess of what would have been the case had there been no army, and was therefore not only suffering a loss, but incurring a heavy responsibility.

In the splendid men of the Household Brigade, diseases of the lungs (including phthisis) accounted for no less that 67.7 per cent. of the deaths, in the cavalry of the line for nearly 50 per cent., and in the infantry of the line for 57 per cent.; while among the civil population of the soldiers' age, the proportion in all England and Wales was only 44.5 per cent. of the total deaths. The next chief causes of deaths were fevers, which accounted in the different arms of the service for from 7 to 14 per cent. of the total deaths. The remainder of the causes of deaths were made up of smaller items.

These remarkable results were not peculiar to the English Army. Most armies did, some still do, lose more than the male civil population at the same age. The following are the most reliable statistics:-

Prussian (1869)...

Prussian army (including the Saxon and Würtemberg corps (1876). 4.96

Prussian (1867)..

Russian (series of years).

Russian (1857-1866).

Austrian

6.54

39

18.7

28

1 In reality the deaths from the civil male population of the soldiers' ages (20 to 40) were below ten, and in the healthy districts much below; the case against the soldier is, therefore, even worse than it reads in the text.

2

Meyne (Eléments de Stat. Méd. Militaire, 1859) gives some of these figures; others are taken from the reports of the different armies.

3 Dr. Engel, in Zt. des Königl. Preussich. Stat. Bureaus, Aug.-Sept., 1865, p. 214. Stat. Sanitäts-bericht über die Kon. Pr. Armee, for 1867, Berlin, 1870. Without deaths of invalids the mortality was only 6.196. The men were all under thirty years of age, which must be taken into account.

5 The Russian mortality has lately been greatly reduced.

The old Hanoverian army was very healthy, losing only 5.3 per 1,000 as against 9.5 among the civil population of the same ages.

In these foreign armies the same rule holds good; fevers (chiefly typhoid in all probability) and phthisis were the great causes of mortality. In Prussia phthisis formerly caused 27 per cent. of the total mortality, but in that army phthisical men are sent home, and after a certain time are struck off the rolls, so that the army deaths are thus fewer than they would be if the men died at their regiments. In Austria phthisis caused 25 deaths out of every 100; in France, 22.9 ;' while in 1859, the proportion among the civil population was 17.76; in Hanover, 39.4; and in Belgium, 30; though in the latter country the proportion among the civil population was only 18.97 deaths from phthisis per 100 of all deaths. In Portugal the mortality from phthisis constituted 22 per cent. of the deaths, while in the civil population the deaths are 12 per cent. of the total deaths. In the Prussian army in 1876 only 16 per cent. were from phthisis. In these armies, also, fevers caused a greater number of the deaths than in the English army, even in the period referred to. In Prussia, 36 (reduced in 1876 to 20); in France, 26; in Belgium, 16.6; and in Hanover, 23.68 per cent. of all deaths were from fever (typhoid?). In Portugal only 3.9 deaths are from typhoid out of every 100 deaths; this is owing to its rarity in the country districts; it is common in Lisbon.

2

Nothing can prove more clearly that in all these armies the same causes were in action. And from what has been said in previous chapters, it may be concluded that the reason of the predominance of these two classes, lung diseases and typhoid fever, must be sought in the impure barrack air, and in the defective removal of excreta.

The Crimean war commenced in 1854, and ended in 1856. A large part of the army was destroyed, and a fresh force of younger men took its place. Soon afterward, the great sanitary reforms of Lord Herbert commenced. In 1859 yearly statistical returns began to be published.

The mortality of all arms has undergone an extraordinary decrease from that of the former period.

Mortality per 1,000, per Annum, in United Kingdom.

From all From Disease alone (ie., excluding violent deaths).

Mean of ten years, 1861-70.
Mean of ten years, 1870-79.

1880....

Causes.

The diminution over the years previously noted (1826-46) is extraordinary. Three causes only can be assigned for it-the youth of the army, and a better selection of men; or a partial removal of the causes of diseases; or earlier invaliding, and the action of the Limited Enlistment Act, so as to throw the fatal cases on the civil population.

This was in 1860; calculated from Laveran's returns from eleven of the great garrisons.

* Marques, reviewed in an excellent article in the British and Foreign Medico-Chir. Review for April, 1863.

Laveran, in 1860, made the number 25.9 in the deaths from eleven garrisons. In 1863 the mortality from typhoid in the French army was 1.87 per 1,000 of effectives in France, 1.63 in Algeria, and 3.55 in Italy. In 1866 the mortality was 1.45 in France, 1.39 in Algeria, and 2.26 in Italy.

VOL. II.-18