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Introductory Address ON MILITARY SURGERY.
DECEMBER 5, 1857.
Introductory Address ON
MILITARY
SURGERY.
DELIVERED AT THE
ROYAL COLLEGE OF
Monday, BY JOLLIFFE
SURGEONS, IRELAND,
November 23rd, 1857.
TUFNELL, F.R.C.S.I., M.R.I.A., REGIUS PROFESSOR.
families in this land." It is not, however, war, for war and honour are associated, but there is no such connexion here. In war captive officers are not hanged up like dogs, nor captive soldiers tied together, and then hacked in pieces. In war cap. tive ladies are not stripped naked, and turned out to the popu. lace in the public streets, and massacred after being subjected to treatment so horrible that men, even when they speak of it to each other do so in a whisper. No, this is not war, but pure Indian atrocity-atrocity, however, which must be requited by the destruction of these miscreants, and at the same time the restoration of England’s prestige over that vast continent; in fine, the honour of England’s daughters has to be avenged, and the honour of England herself to be supported. But to do this she must keep up a large and perfect army. She must do so, not only for the restoration and permanence of tranquillity in India, but to uphold herself
elsewhere.
MY
LORDS, MR. PRESIDENT,
AND
G-ENTLEMEN,—Old and
Let
us
view this
clearly,
and consider the
position which
established custom has ordained that the professor of each England holds upon the earth, and we shall see that it is her branch of medical education shall, prior to entering upon the policy to do so. The prosperity of England depends entirely her commerce; let her but lose her commerce, and she more immediate consideration of the subjects of his Chair, offer upon is annihilated as a power. The exports of Great Britain during such observations of a general nature bearing upon it, as he the past year amounted to no less than .6116,000,000 sterling; and surely this is a sum sufficient to justify her in maintaining may consider to be best suited to time and circumstances. In accordance with this custom I would beg to devote the a large armed force for the protection of the flag under which this commerce is conveyed; for let insult long unresented be hour for which I may command your attention to-day,Once fallen and England’s but offered to and down it lstly.-To the consideration of the necessity of England’s rights will notit,be conceded, drops. nor will her fair and legitimate maintaining all her military establishments, together with privileges be maintained unless she herself be both ready and their auxiliary departments, in a state of the highest efficiency. able to maintain them. A country like England, having colo2ndly.-To the influence which sickness exerts in reducing nies in every quarter of the globe, is liable at any moment to be called upon to support its people; to resent wrong and inthe strength of an army.
done to its subjects; and to punish and avenge atrocity 3rdly.-To the past and present sanitary arrangements for justice committed upon them. Protocols and conferences may be very and our troops; useful upon occasion, but I believe that they are none the less Lastly.-To the education and position of those on whom effective when backed up by those iron tongues that speak a the future medical charge of our fleets and our armies is to language which even savages can understand. devolve. If, then, the views here put forth are correct, surely it is madness to reduce our army to so low a par as to run any risk a Before, however, proceeding further, I must for moment of the national prestige being endangered. his would to of one whom God life) (had speak spared pause Dlfferent views are entertained by different parties upon the have been present to-day. Of one, whose time, and energies, and subject of keeping up an army ; and latterly one set of political talents, were devoted to the soldier’s welfare, and to whom the economists have advanced a far different reason from that put medical department of the army owes the deepest debt of gra- forth by me, but a reason which, I think, cannot be too soon or titude-Augustus Stafford. He is gone, cut off in the prime of too generally dissented from. They have advocated the army on the ground of its being a cheaper reformatory institution and the holds as true a friend now as the soldier life, grave than the convict prison, the cost of the individual in and his surgeon ever had. He sought to smooth the miseries the latterordinary situation being j668, whilst in the former it is but of war, for, Christian as he was, he knew that war must still .636 per annum. I myself know full well that out of the "
be anticipated, in our time at least, and thus he acted. The world may have progressed in civilization, but the battle-field yet remains the last dire arbitrator in national disputes. Peace has hitherto (with one exception) never been of very long duration, and it is idle to reckon upon it for the future. With the best and wisest government, anxious to the utmost for peace, we must still look forward to war as a probable contingency. It is a frightful evil, but we shall gain nothing by ignoring the fact, and we must ever be prepared to maintain our rights abroad, as well as to protect ourselves at home. The present time, too, that in which we live, is, perhaps, as eventful a period as any in the English history, and never since we became a nation has it been more incumbent on us to keep our naval and military establishments in full efficiency than now. But two years since when I first had the honour of speaking from this spot, England was plunged deeply in a war which none could say when it would terminate. A year back, when next I had the pleasure of addressing you, all had ended, and she was apparently securely fixed in peace; whilst now when again it is my duty to come before you, we find her with one war just concluded in Persia, a second still carrying on in China, and a third actively waging in the very heart of our East Indian possessions. Yes, an unexpected and mysterious outbreak has come upon us, to disturb that peaceful state which Englishmen all looked upon with satisfaction, as a time well fitted for the extension of civilization, and the cultivation and improvement of those arts which have for their end the intercourse of nations, and the promotion of good will
amongst
men.
War has been raised against us by traitorous villains, "whose cruelty has turned to sorrow and mourning the homes of manv No. 1788.
strong, intractable young scapegrace," "the reckless poacher," and the " wild unsettled rustic," the very finest material for military service can be formed ; but I know also that it is an error to suppose that anything beyond a mere fractional part of the British army is composed of men who, if not trained to arms, would occupy a gaol. Those who think thus of the British soldier do not know him; the public, in its extended sense, as a body, does not know him. The taxpayer, during peace, as he hurries to and from his place of business, sees an individual in the streets, lounging listlessly along, perhaps looking into his own shopwindow, or it may be even disorderly and drunk. The taxpayer misjudges the body from this view, and frames an opinion in accordance. He sees the soldier’s vices, but he does not see his virtues. Let us reverse the scene; let us place the soldier where sad reality necessitates his action. Now look at him, and now behold the change. He will see daring and courage there exemplified : he will see the same soldier enduring all and everything that war and misery can inflict, and bearing it without a murmur because it is his duty-for this his country raised and pays him. Surely the taxpayer would not grudge him to the country now ! surely he would not have wished him absent from before Delhi, or desired any diminution in the numbers of Havelock’s gallant band ! Hitherto England has been acting upon totally wrong premises. She has acted as though she could at any moment raise a trained army as occasion might require, and then, when no longer needing its services, disband and discard it. She has done so, and her matured and disciplined troops have been turned adrift. When trouble has come upon her she has lavished blood and money ; when peace has been restored, she has grudged another shilling. And what has resulted from this system of keeping up no reserve ? Why, that when occasion has again occurred, new troops have had to be raised suddenly out of any men, and at any price, boys and weakly indivi-
duals being forced upon the country, worthless as soldiers, fit food only for sickness and disease. Next, it has been the custom, upon these occasions, to Jay the blame of any mal-adventure that may ensue, and of all deficiency of strength and kind, upon the Government in power. Let us consider how far this is just. Let us look at the position in which a Ministry (of either side) stands in relation to the people over whom it is placed. Let us view this fairly, and then give judgment-not before. The Government of any country, to be effective, must (as Lord Palmerston declares) be in accordance with the feelings and opinions of the people; and no Government can exist that does not enjoy the confidence of Parliament. But constituencies return Parliament; and if constituencies call for retrenchment of every kind, and bind their representatives to vote for reductions of every kind, then on them, and them alone, lies the responsibility of deficiency. To recur to recent matters for example : The Peace of Paris was but barely signed, before the end to end began to cry out for reduction of the country from and when Sir William Williams, as a soldier, income-tax; spoke of the necessity of using circumspection in the reduction of the army, he would not be listened to. Yet, now, the nation and the press, those who forced on the discharge of these very men, say that they should never have been disbanded. Such is popular consistency ! No, the country then The Governwas urgent, pressing, clamorous for reduction. ment could not but yield to the national appeal; it reduced the income-tax, and, as a consequence, was forced to reduce the army, for it had not funds for its support. The reason adduced by the public for the reduction of the army was that England did not, like continental nations, require troops for home service. This is, thank God! true; but she does require a reserve, and to be prepared for those great crises which must, and will, from time to time arise; and the force left to her by the public was (as has been shown by the experience of the past few months) barely equal to meet the very first emergency. Since, then, it is manifest that the maintaining of the naval and military resources of the country is dependent upon the nation’s will, let every individual consider this, and act accordingly. Let him urge the representative of his town or shire to support the Government in power in keeping up our army and our navy, together with all those other departments on whose efficiency their vitality depends: an army and a navy such as the experience of the past four, and not the preceding forty years, has shown to be necessary for England. With the army 1 have coupled the words " other departments."" What do I mean? I mean departments which did not exist when we declared war with Russia, but departments which were soon found to be absolutelyneces8a17/ for the soldier’s welfare,--departments without which he is powerless in war, and soon perishes from off the earth. What, then, are these? Firstly, a service that shall supply him with food and tentage - 2-"a Military Train." Secondly, a service that shall guard him from the causes of pestilence-" a Corps for Army Works." Thirdly, a service that shall tend him when prostrate by disease or wound-"a Corps for Army Hospitals." And, coupled with all these, a Medical and Commissariat Department, perfect in all their parts. These are essential to the soldier’s life in war, and must be maintained if we would not see our troops speedily succumb to death. In connecting death with war, the popular idea is to look upon it as resulting from a gun-shot, or a sabre, orbayonet wound, received upon the battle-field. This it is which is presented to the imagination; disease does not enter into the mind of anyone of us. We would desire to connect with war that death which, from earliest childhood, has been familiar to us as the aociate of glory. We do not wish to think of low fever or scorbutic dysentery as assailants of the soldier’s life, and yet if we would not so have him die, we thus must think and act. The influence of sickness in producing casualty in war may be learnt from the history of every campaign, and from none It more forcibly than that recently terminated with Russia. has too sadly demonstrated this, but it has also shown that the real security for ultimate success in war lies not so much in the number of sabres, bayonets, and artillery that we can bring into the field as in the number of men whom we can keep in the field, and these in health and vigour, during a continued struggle. The loss of life in the Crimea from wounds was as nothing to the loss of life by disease. The total number killed in action, and dying from wounds of every kind, from the date of the first landing down to the capture of Sebastopol, from first to last of the war, amounted only to 4446, and this out of
568
an army, in the aggregate, of immense force; whilst the number withdrawn by sickness from a total of only 23,391 men, at a single period, was no less than 12,025; so that 11,367 effectives had not only to perform their own duty, but, in addition, that of 12,025 who were sick. This statement may be doubted, but its correctness will be proved by the following official return :-
1st.-Retum of all
Effective Soldie1’s in the Army of the Crimea
for the Vont7t of January, 1855.
2nd.-Returr of Sick in
Hospital, and at Scutari, of the Army of the Cj’imea, for J anuar’lJ, 1855.
Let us take, however, a more extended view still. England’ landed in Turkey and in the Crimea 93,901 men, of whom 30,000 were lost to the country, either dead or invalided, within the short period of eighteen months; and of these men, only one out of every thirteen admitted into hospital was placed there in consequence of wounds. Of those who died, comparatively few were carried off by epidemic; the rest perished by disease which was capable of mitigation, if not entirely of prevention. This destruction of life, too, was not confined to the human species, for of the cavalry horses 401 only were killed in action, including the loss in the gallant. Balaklava charge, whilst 2226 died by disease during the war. It is a perfect fallacy, therefore, to believe that it is theenemy that should be feared in war; on the contrary, it is disease only that we need dread. These facts I have brought forward in order to demonstrate the induence which disease exerts in reducing the efficiency of an army; and also the importance of directing the utmost attention to remedial measures. These measures must of necessity devolve upon the Medical Department; wherefore it is of the greatest importance to the soldier, and to the country, that due weight and’ consideration should be given to it. The improvements which have recently been made in the different forms of projectile weapons have certainly tended to. increased destruction of life and limb; but the disadvantage which the soldier labours under, in this respect, he looks to you, gentlemen, to compensate him for by the improved practice of your art. I have shewn to you the losses which our troops sustained by sickness during the Crimean war. I will now proceed to consider how this loss took place. It may seem a sad task to review what has been termed England’s shame; but I will prove that it is a subject for England’s pride. Many say, let a cloak be thrown over the past; I, on the contrary, say, keep the past well before the light, because it is by looking at it that we are to avoid, as we can avoid, similar occurrences in future. I would, then, ask three questions-viz., when did England lose these men ? I reply, at the commencement of the war. Why did she lose these men? Because she was not prepared for war. Need she have lost these men ? I answer,
No.
These men were the victims of a false national economy-an Gentlemen, you have now heard the truth, and I think I economy that soon proved itself to be utterly incompatible was justified in saying that England might look with pride and with success. Blame was heaped upon the Government, upon satisfaction on the condition of her army at the conclusion of was not placed the war; a condition, however, be it recollected, wholly, departments, and upon individuals; but itone where it should have been placed-by each upon himself solely, and entirely acquired by the liberal expenditure upon for advocating during peace that penurious system in relation ’ her troops. The connexion, then, between war and sickness, and the into our army, which, when war came, sacrificed our soldiers’ lives. Comparisons were made with France to our disparage- fluences of the one upon the other having been, I trust, clearly ment; and it was attempted to be shown that it was our gene- shown, it now becomes my duty to review the present state of our own system, and to point to the advantages which our rals’ faults. It was no such thing. It has been too much the fashion to run down England, and army is likely to derive from the experience gained during to uphold other countries. The French are a noble, brave, the past war. In the first place, attention has been drawn to and generous people; but they are neither before us in peace, the fact that our previous provisions, both for fighting men and nor yet in war. I, on the contrary, am now prepared to show sick, were totally inadequate, and not only have new accessory that France, in the Crimea, proved herself to be second to departments been introduced into the service, but our old England as a military power; for when protracted action came, ’and tried departments, the medical and commissariat, have the might of France declined, as that of England rose. It is already been placed upon a superior footing, and powers given not enough to start in war (as France did) with a grand army to them which they did not enjoy before. perfect in all its parts; but the wear and tear and daily waste I To illustrate this, I may mention that the head of the medical must be supplied, or otherwise the whole will droop away and ’, staff of the China expedition sailed from this country empowered die. Such was the fact; and from France’s history in that ’, to make his own arrangements for the health of the sick, and war do I now seek to establish what I have advanced-namely, the Commissary-general of the Force received instruction to get the absolute necessity for England’s being liberal to her army, and to do all that was required for the soldiers composing it, especially in the maintenance of those departments that are The accommodation for the sick and wounded was made equal auxiliary to war. England at the commencement had none of to forty per cent. of the number embarked, whilst that for the these, and her soldiers suffered; but she had gold, and day by Crimean expedition was originally limited but to ten. This day, and hour by hour, she handed out her gold, and bought liberality will in the sequel prove " a wise and economic exand sent forth to the East all that was required. Her travagance," for putting humanity aside, it will save thousands ministers worked in the cabinet; her artizans in the factory in valuable life for hundreds expended, the marketable price and store. The plague of sickness was first stayed, then disap- of each soldier in China being at least .6100. Whilst increased interest has thus been manifested for the peared ; and in the place of a few squalid, but still undaunted, men, gradually uprose the noblest, stoutest army that England soldiers on service abroad, his wants and requirements when ever had, enjoying upon the selfsame spot the scene of former returning home wounded, or diseased, have not been less wretchedness and misery, a degree of health surpassing that favourably regarded, and a sum of .6260,000 has been voted by of even the household cavalry at home. Gentlemen, these are the House of Commons for the erection of a military hospital facts; and you may believe me when I say that in one week- such as this country never had before. In the next place the viz., in April, 1856, but five deaths occurred in 72,000 British past campaign has elicited from the Minister for War, in reference to the sanitary treatment of the soldiers, a code of introops in position on the Russian soil. Now let us see the converse of this picture. Let us look structions so clear and so direct that it is to be hoped that they into the French camp at the same period, and review France may stand stereotyped for adoption in all future time in our and England before Sebastopol in 1856. Such is the title of a army. Lord Panmure, in his letter of instruction to the head work recently published by Dr. Bryce, an English surgeon of the Crimean Sanitary Commission, has spoken in the words temporarily attached to the French army. It is a book which which I will now read-words which, although addressed upon every Englishman should read, aye, and every Frenchman too a special occasion, should be the guide and rule of every medical than loves his country, for it is a revelation that will startle officer hereafter placed in charge of any expeditionary force. all. It lifts the curtain that shut out the world from France, His Lordship, addressing Dr. Sutherland, says," The utmost expedition must be used in the execution of and shows "that a state of things existed in the French camp and hospitals at the very crisis of the war little suspected by all that is necessary. You will put yourself instantly into the allies in their close proximity, quite unknown to the public communication with the General commanding the Army, and press of Europe, and probably equally so to the cabinets repre- the Admiral commanding the Fleet, and you will request of sented at the Congress of Paris; and it asserts that peace with them forthwith (according to the official directions they will Russia was obligatory on France in the spring of 1856, because have received) full powers of entry into every hospital, inof the sanitary state of her Crimean army. The French sol- firmary, or receptacle of whatsoever kind for the sick and diers were not hutted, while their tents were old and much wounded, whether ashore or afloat. " You will inspect every part of such infirmary, and ascertorn, so that the rain passed through. There were no means for artiQcial warmth by day, and for night three blankets tain the sufficiency of the drainage and ventilation ; the quanserved two men for bed and covering. The soil within the tity and quality of the water supply; and determine whether tents was ankle-deep in mud and noxious tilth. Eence the the condition of the whole is such as to allow, by purity of air night cold prevented sleep, although the tents were closed as and freedom from over-crowding, fair play and full scope to tight as possible to retain the bodily warmth emitted by twelve medical and surgical treatment for the recovery of health. or tYiSnty men under one canvas; and hence, again, the forma"The result of your inspection and opinions, together with tion ofamorbific atmosphere." As respects food, for months a statement of all that is necessary to be done in order to it was scanty and unwholesome; "the supply of wood for fuel secure the great end of safety and health, must be laid as even more deficient." And what did all this produce? Typhus, speedily as possible before the general commanding, or the ad" 5>lzic’, in the words of M. Baudens, (their own surgeon,) miral, as the case may be, and you will request them to give ovei’Rov/ed the hospitals and was found in the regimental immediate directions that the works be completed. " It is important that you be. deeply impressed with the t6ilt, and forty-six surgeons died from this disease alone." Prcm these premises, "stated and reasoned upon in a spirit necessity of not resting content with an order, but that you of eompletest fairness," Dr. Bryce concludes, "that whatever see instantly by yourselves, or by your agents, to the comthe muster-rolls of the French army were in March, 1856, its mencement of the work, and to its superintendence day by day efficient belligerent strength was then reduced below 50,000 of until it is finished. all arms, inclusive of the troops at Eupatoria. That at this " The camps must also come under your immediate and time a devastating disease abounded in the camps, under cir- anxious attention; and it is your duty, in short, to state fully, cumstances which inevitably tended to enlarge the sphere and and urge strongly for adoption by the authorities, everything hasten the course of its natural destructiveness, and conse- that you believe will tend to the preservation of health and quently to reduce with fearful rapidity the remaining strength life." of the army. That concurrently the medical staff and hospital I abstract these beautifully plain and simple sentences from sanitary resources of the army had become almost unserviceable. out of one of those works that few comparatively ever read, That these evils were irremediable in the presence of an enemy, a Blue-book of the House of Commons; and- I -give them to and incompatible with the immediate prosecution of the war; you, gentlemen, who are now educating for the public service, and that from these several and united causes the French as expressive of the views of the War Minister on this allarmy had ceased to hold the foremost place amongst the important head, and in the hope that they may hereafter allied forces, in respect of numbers, equipment, and power of become standing regulations upon this subject. "
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569
,
Introductory Address ON
MILITARY
SURGERY.
DELIVERED AT THE
ROYAL COLLEGE OF
Monday, BY JOLLIFFE
SURGEONS, IRELAND,
November 23rd, 1857.
TUFNELL, F.R.C.S.I., M.R.I.A., REGIUS PROFESSOR.
families in this land." It is not, however, war, for war and honour are associated, but there is no such connexion here. In war captive officers are not hanged up like dogs, nor captive soldiers tied together, and then hacked in pieces. In war cap. tive ladies are not stripped naked, and turned out to the popu. lace in the public streets, and massacred after being subjected to treatment so horrible that men, even when they speak of it to each other do so in a whisper. No, this is not war, but pure Indian atrocity-atrocity, however, which must be requited by the destruction of these miscreants, and at the same time the restoration of England’s prestige over that vast continent; in fine, the honour of England’s daughters has to be avenged, and the honour of England herself to be supported. But to do this she must keep up a large and perfect army. She must do so, not only for the restoration and permanence of tranquillity in India, but to uphold herself
elsewhere.
MY
LORDS, MR. PRESIDENT,
AND
G-ENTLEMEN,—Old and
Let
us
view this
clearly,
and consider the
position which
established custom has ordained that the professor of each England holds upon the earth, and we shall see that it is her branch of medical education shall, prior to entering upon the policy to do so. The prosperity of England depends entirely her commerce; let her but lose her commerce, and she more immediate consideration of the subjects of his Chair, offer upon is annihilated as a power. The exports of Great Britain during such observations of a general nature bearing upon it, as he the past year amounted to no less than .6116,000,000 sterling; and surely this is a sum sufficient to justify her in maintaining may consider to be best suited to time and circumstances. In accordance with this custom I would beg to devote the a large armed force for the protection of the flag under which this commerce is conveyed; for let insult long unresented be hour for which I may command your attention to-day,Once fallen and England’s but offered to and down it lstly.-To the consideration of the necessity of England’s rights will notit,be conceded, drops. nor will her fair and legitimate maintaining all her military establishments, together with privileges be maintained unless she herself be both ready and their auxiliary departments, in a state of the highest efficiency. able to maintain them. A country like England, having colo2ndly.-To the influence which sickness exerts in reducing nies in every quarter of the globe, is liable at any moment to be called upon to support its people; to resent wrong and inthe strength of an army.
done to its subjects; and to punish and avenge atrocity 3rdly.-To the past and present sanitary arrangements for justice committed upon them. Protocols and conferences may be very and our troops; useful upon occasion, but I believe that they are none the less Lastly.-To the education and position of those on whom effective when backed up by those iron tongues that speak a the future medical charge of our fleets and our armies is to language which even savages can understand. devolve. If, then, the views here put forth are correct, surely it is madness to reduce our army to so low a par as to run any risk a Before, however, proceeding further, I must for moment of the national prestige being endangered. his would to of one whom God life) (had speak spared pause Dlfferent views are entertained by different parties upon the have been present to-day. Of one, whose time, and energies, and subject of keeping up an army ; and latterly one set of political talents, were devoted to the soldier’s welfare, and to whom the economists have advanced a far different reason from that put medical department of the army owes the deepest debt of gra- forth by me, but a reason which, I think, cannot be too soon or titude-Augustus Stafford. He is gone, cut off in the prime of too generally dissented from. They have advocated the army on the ground of its being a cheaper reformatory institution and the holds as true a friend now as the soldier life, grave than the convict prison, the cost of the individual in and his surgeon ever had. He sought to smooth the miseries the latterordinary situation being j668, whilst in the former it is but of war, for, Christian as he was, he knew that war must still .636 per annum. I myself know full well that out of the "
be anticipated, in our time at least, and thus he acted. The world may have progressed in civilization, but the battle-field yet remains the last dire arbitrator in national disputes. Peace has hitherto (with one exception) never been of very long duration, and it is idle to reckon upon it for the future. With the best and wisest government, anxious to the utmost for peace, we must still look forward to war as a probable contingency. It is a frightful evil, but we shall gain nothing by ignoring the fact, and we must ever be prepared to maintain our rights abroad, as well as to protect ourselves at home. The present time, too, that in which we live, is, perhaps, as eventful a period as any in the English history, and never since we became a nation has it been more incumbent on us to keep our naval and military establishments in full efficiency than now. But two years since when I first had the honour of speaking from this spot, England was plunged deeply in a war which none could say when it would terminate. A year back, when next I had the pleasure of addressing you, all had ended, and she was apparently securely fixed in peace; whilst now when again it is my duty to come before you, we find her with one war just concluded in Persia, a second still carrying on in China, and a third actively waging in the very heart of our East Indian possessions. Yes, an unexpected and mysterious outbreak has come upon us, to disturb that peaceful state which Englishmen all looked upon with satisfaction, as a time well fitted for the extension of civilization, and the cultivation and improvement of those arts which have for their end the intercourse of nations, and the promotion of good will
amongst
men.
War has been raised against us by traitorous villains, "whose cruelty has turned to sorrow and mourning the homes of manv No. 1788.
strong, intractable young scapegrace," "the reckless poacher," and the " wild unsettled rustic," the very finest material for military service can be formed ; but I know also that it is an error to suppose that anything beyond a mere fractional part of the British army is composed of men who, if not trained to arms, would occupy a gaol. Those who think thus of the British soldier do not know him; the public, in its extended sense, as a body, does not know him. The taxpayer, during peace, as he hurries to and from his place of business, sees an individual in the streets, lounging listlessly along, perhaps looking into his own shopwindow, or it may be even disorderly and drunk. The taxpayer misjudges the body from this view, and frames an opinion in accordance. He sees the soldier’s vices, but he does not see his virtues. Let us reverse the scene; let us place the soldier where sad reality necessitates his action. Now look at him, and now behold the change. He will see daring and courage there exemplified : he will see the same soldier enduring all and everything that war and misery can inflict, and bearing it without a murmur because it is his duty-for this his country raised and pays him. Surely the taxpayer would not grudge him to the country now ! surely he would not have wished him absent from before Delhi, or desired any diminution in the numbers of Havelock’s gallant band ! Hitherto England has been acting upon totally wrong premises. She has acted as though she could at any moment raise a trained army as occasion might require, and then, when no longer needing its services, disband and discard it. She has done so, and her matured and disciplined troops have been turned adrift. When trouble has come upon her she has lavished blood and money ; when peace has been restored, she has grudged another shilling. And what has resulted from this system of keeping up no reserve ? Why, that when occasion has again occurred, new troops have had to be raised suddenly out of any men, and at any price, boys and weakly indivi-
duals being forced upon the country, worthless as soldiers, fit food only for sickness and disease. Next, it has been the custom, upon these occasions, to Jay the blame of any mal-adventure that may ensue, and of all deficiency of strength and kind, upon the Government in power. Let us consider how far this is just. Let us look at the position in which a Ministry (of either side) stands in relation to the people over whom it is placed. Let us view this fairly, and then give judgment-not before. The Government of any country, to be effective, must (as Lord Palmerston declares) be in accordance with the feelings and opinions of the people; and no Government can exist that does not enjoy the confidence of Parliament. But constituencies return Parliament; and if constituencies call for retrenchment of every kind, and bind their representatives to vote for reductions of every kind, then on them, and them alone, lies the responsibility of deficiency. To recur to recent matters for example : The Peace of Paris was but barely signed, before the end to end began to cry out for reduction of the country from and when Sir William Williams, as a soldier, income-tax; spoke of the necessity of using circumspection in the reduction of the army, he would not be listened to. Yet, now, the nation and the press, those who forced on the discharge of these very men, say that they should never have been disbanded. Such is popular consistency ! No, the country then The Governwas urgent, pressing, clamorous for reduction. ment could not but yield to the national appeal; it reduced the income-tax, and, as a consequence, was forced to reduce the army, for it had not funds for its support. The reason adduced by the public for the reduction of the army was that England did not, like continental nations, require troops for home service. This is, thank God! true; but she does require a reserve, and to be prepared for those great crises which must, and will, from time to time arise; and the force left to her by the public was (as has been shown by the experience of the past few months) barely equal to meet the very first emergency. Since, then, it is manifest that the maintaining of the naval and military resources of the country is dependent upon the nation’s will, let every individual consider this, and act accordingly. Let him urge the representative of his town or shire to support the Government in power in keeping up our army and our navy, together with all those other departments on whose efficiency their vitality depends: an army and a navy such as the experience of the past four, and not the preceding forty years, has shown to be necessary for England. With the army 1 have coupled the words " other departments."" What do I mean? I mean departments which did not exist when we declared war with Russia, but departments which were soon found to be absolutelyneces8a17/ for the soldier’s welfare,--departments without which he is powerless in war, and soon perishes from off the earth. What, then, are these? Firstly, a service that shall supply him with food and tentage - 2-"a Military Train." Secondly, a service that shall guard him from the causes of pestilence-" a Corps for Army Works." Thirdly, a service that shall tend him when prostrate by disease or wound-"a Corps for Army Hospitals." And, coupled with all these, a Medical and Commissariat Department, perfect in all their parts. These are essential to the soldier’s life in war, and must be maintained if we would not see our troops speedily succumb to death. In connecting death with war, the popular idea is to look upon it as resulting from a gun-shot, or a sabre, orbayonet wound, received upon the battle-field. This it is which is presented to the imagination; disease does not enter into the mind of anyone of us. We would desire to connect with war that death which, from earliest childhood, has been familiar to us as the aociate of glory. We do not wish to think of low fever or scorbutic dysentery as assailants of the soldier’s life, and yet if we would not so have him die, we thus must think and act. The influence of sickness in producing casualty in war may be learnt from the history of every campaign, and from none It more forcibly than that recently terminated with Russia. has too sadly demonstrated this, but it has also shown that the real security for ultimate success in war lies not so much in the number of sabres, bayonets, and artillery that we can bring into the field as in the number of men whom we can keep in the field, and these in health and vigour, during a continued struggle. The loss of life in the Crimea from wounds was as nothing to the loss of life by disease. The total number killed in action, and dying from wounds of every kind, from the date of the first landing down to the capture of Sebastopol, from first to last of the war, amounted only to 4446, and this out of
568
an army, in the aggregate, of immense force; whilst the number withdrawn by sickness from a total of only 23,391 men, at a single period, was no less than 12,025; so that 11,367 effectives had not only to perform their own duty, but, in addition, that of 12,025 who were sick. This statement may be doubted, but its correctness will be proved by the following official return :-
1st.-Retum of all
Effective Soldie1’s in the Army of the Crimea
for the Vont7t of January, 1855.
2nd.-Returr of Sick in
Hospital, and at Scutari, of the Army of the Cj’imea, for J anuar’lJ, 1855.
Let us take, however, a more extended view still. England’ landed in Turkey and in the Crimea 93,901 men, of whom 30,000 were lost to the country, either dead or invalided, within the short period of eighteen months; and of these men, only one out of every thirteen admitted into hospital was placed there in consequence of wounds. Of those who died, comparatively few were carried off by epidemic; the rest perished by disease which was capable of mitigation, if not entirely of prevention. This destruction of life, too, was not confined to the human species, for of the cavalry horses 401 only were killed in action, including the loss in the gallant. Balaklava charge, whilst 2226 died by disease during the war. It is a perfect fallacy, therefore, to believe that it is theenemy that should be feared in war; on the contrary, it is disease only that we need dread. These facts I have brought forward in order to demonstrate the induence which disease exerts in reducing the efficiency of an army; and also the importance of directing the utmost attention to remedial measures. These measures must of necessity devolve upon the Medical Department; wherefore it is of the greatest importance to the soldier, and to the country, that due weight and’ consideration should be given to it. The improvements which have recently been made in the different forms of projectile weapons have certainly tended to. increased destruction of life and limb; but the disadvantage which the soldier labours under, in this respect, he looks to you, gentlemen, to compensate him for by the improved practice of your art. I have shewn to you the losses which our troops sustained by sickness during the Crimean war. I will now proceed to consider how this loss took place. It may seem a sad task to review what has been termed England’s shame; but I will prove that it is a subject for England’s pride. Many say, let a cloak be thrown over the past; I, on the contrary, say, keep the past well before the light, because it is by looking at it that we are to avoid, as we can avoid, similar occurrences in future. I would, then, ask three questions-viz., when did England lose these men ? I reply, at the commencement of the war. Why did she lose these men? Because she was not prepared for war. Need she have lost these men ? I answer,
No.
These men were the victims of a false national economy-an Gentlemen, you have now heard the truth, and I think I economy that soon proved itself to be utterly incompatible was justified in saying that England might look with pride and with success. Blame was heaped upon the Government, upon satisfaction on the condition of her army at the conclusion of was not placed the war; a condition, however, be it recollected, wholly, departments, and upon individuals; but itone where it should have been placed-by each upon himself solely, and entirely acquired by the liberal expenditure upon for advocating during peace that penurious system in relation ’ her troops. The connexion, then, between war and sickness, and the into our army, which, when war came, sacrificed our soldiers’ lives. Comparisons were made with France to our disparage- fluences of the one upon the other having been, I trust, clearly ment; and it was attempted to be shown that it was our gene- shown, it now becomes my duty to review the present state of our own system, and to point to the advantages which our rals’ faults. It was no such thing. It has been too much the fashion to run down England, and army is likely to derive from the experience gained during to uphold other countries. The French are a noble, brave, the past war. In the first place, attention has been drawn to and generous people; but they are neither before us in peace, the fact that our previous provisions, both for fighting men and nor yet in war. I, on the contrary, am now prepared to show sick, were totally inadequate, and not only have new accessory that France, in the Crimea, proved herself to be second to departments been introduced into the service, but our old England as a military power; for when protracted action came, ’and tried departments, the medical and commissariat, have the might of France declined, as that of England rose. It is already been placed upon a superior footing, and powers given not enough to start in war (as France did) with a grand army to them which they did not enjoy before. perfect in all its parts; but the wear and tear and daily waste I To illustrate this, I may mention that the head of the medical must be supplied, or otherwise the whole will droop away and ’, staff of the China expedition sailed from this country empowered die. Such was the fact; and from France’s history in that ’, to make his own arrangements for the health of the sick, and war do I now seek to establish what I have advanced-namely, the Commissary-general of the Force received instruction to get the absolute necessity for England’s being liberal to her army, and to do all that was required for the soldiers composing it, especially in the maintenance of those departments that are The accommodation for the sick and wounded was made equal auxiliary to war. England at the commencement had none of to forty per cent. of the number embarked, whilst that for the these, and her soldiers suffered; but she had gold, and day by Crimean expedition was originally limited but to ten. This day, and hour by hour, she handed out her gold, and bought liberality will in the sequel prove " a wise and economic exand sent forth to the East all that was required. Her travagance," for putting humanity aside, it will save thousands ministers worked in the cabinet; her artizans in the factory in valuable life for hundreds expended, the marketable price and store. The plague of sickness was first stayed, then disap- of each soldier in China being at least .6100. Whilst increased interest has thus been manifested for the peared ; and in the place of a few squalid, but still undaunted, men, gradually uprose the noblest, stoutest army that England soldiers on service abroad, his wants and requirements when ever had, enjoying upon the selfsame spot the scene of former returning home wounded, or diseased, have not been less wretchedness and misery, a degree of health surpassing that favourably regarded, and a sum of .6260,000 has been voted by of even the household cavalry at home. Gentlemen, these are the House of Commons for the erection of a military hospital facts; and you may believe me when I say that in one week- such as this country never had before. In the next place the viz., in April, 1856, but five deaths occurred in 72,000 British past campaign has elicited from the Minister for War, in reference to the sanitary treatment of the soldiers, a code of introops in position on the Russian soil. Now let us see the converse of this picture. Let us look structions so clear and so direct that it is to be hoped that they into the French camp at the same period, and review France may stand stereotyped for adoption in all future time in our and England before Sebastopol in 1856. Such is the title of a army. Lord Panmure, in his letter of instruction to the head work recently published by Dr. Bryce, an English surgeon of the Crimean Sanitary Commission, has spoken in the words temporarily attached to the French army. It is a book which which I will now read-words which, although addressed upon every Englishman should read, aye, and every Frenchman too a special occasion, should be the guide and rule of every medical than loves his country, for it is a revelation that will startle officer hereafter placed in charge of any expeditionary force. all. It lifts the curtain that shut out the world from France, His Lordship, addressing Dr. Sutherland, says," The utmost expedition must be used in the execution of and shows "that a state of things existed in the French camp and hospitals at the very crisis of the war little suspected by all that is necessary. You will put yourself instantly into the allies in their close proximity, quite unknown to the public communication with the General commanding the Army, and press of Europe, and probably equally so to the cabinets repre- the Admiral commanding the Fleet, and you will request of sented at the Congress of Paris; and it asserts that peace with them forthwith (according to the official directions they will Russia was obligatory on France in the spring of 1856, because have received) full powers of entry into every hospital, inof the sanitary state of her Crimean army. The French sol- firmary, or receptacle of whatsoever kind for the sick and diers were not hutted, while their tents were old and much wounded, whether ashore or afloat. " You will inspect every part of such infirmary, and ascertorn, so that the rain passed through. There were no means for artiQcial warmth by day, and for night three blankets tain the sufficiency of the drainage and ventilation ; the quanserved two men for bed and covering. The soil within the tity and quality of the water supply; and determine whether tents was ankle-deep in mud and noxious tilth. Eence the the condition of the whole is such as to allow, by purity of air night cold prevented sleep, although the tents were closed as and freedom from over-crowding, fair play and full scope to tight as possible to retain the bodily warmth emitted by twelve medical and surgical treatment for the recovery of health. or tYiSnty men under one canvas; and hence, again, the forma"The result of your inspection and opinions, together with tion ofamorbific atmosphere." As respects food, for months a statement of all that is necessary to be done in order to it was scanty and unwholesome; "the supply of wood for fuel secure the great end of safety and health, must be laid as even more deficient." And what did all this produce? Typhus, speedily as possible before the general commanding, or the ad" 5>lzic’, in the words of M. Baudens, (their own surgeon,) miral, as the case may be, and you will request them to give ovei’Rov/ed the hospitals and was found in the regimental immediate directions that the works be completed. " It is important that you be. deeply impressed with the t6ilt, and forty-six surgeons died from this disease alone." Prcm these premises, "stated and reasoned upon in a spirit necessity of not resting content with an order, but that you of eompletest fairness," Dr. Bryce concludes, "that whatever see instantly by yourselves, or by your agents, to the comthe muster-rolls of the French army were in March, 1856, its mencement of the work, and to its superintendence day by day efficient belligerent strength was then reduced below 50,000 of until it is finished. all arms, inclusive of the troops at Eupatoria. That at this " The camps must also come under your immediate and time a devastating disease abounded in the camps, under cir- anxious attention; and it is your duty, in short, to state fully, cumstances which inevitably tended to enlarge the sphere and and urge strongly for adoption by the authorities, everything hasten the course of its natural destructiveness, and conse- that you believe will tend to the preservation of health and quently to reduce with fearful rapidity the remaining strength life." of the army. That concurrently the medical staff and hospital I abstract these beautifully plain and simple sentences from sanitary resources of the army had become almost unserviceable. out of one of those works that few comparatively ever read, That these evils were irremediable in the presence of an enemy, a Blue-book of the House of Commons; and- I -give them to and incompatible with the immediate prosecution of the war; you, gentlemen, who are now educating for the public service, and that from these several and united causes the French as expressive of the views of the War Minister on this allarmy had ceased to hold the foremost place amongst the important head, and in the hope that they may hereafter allied forces, in respect of numbers, equipment, and power of become standing regulations upon this subject. "
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mobility.
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569
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