Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/257

Rh ARMY.] ENGLAND Cumbers rfthe irmy at iome 5rom L800 to 1876. Iroops on colonial service. Remits, The numbers of the regular army, maintained for service in the United Kingdom, have varied much in the course of the present century. In the year 1800 the total was 70,745 ; and it rose to 106,331 in 1805, and to 112,518 in 1810. Within the next three quinquennial periods, the number decreased, that is, to 80,731 in 1815, to 61,116 in 1820, and to 46,264 in 1825. In 1830 the number rose again to 48,094, but fell to 47,214 in 1835. There was another rise to 50,476 in 1840, to 59,870 in 1845, and to 67,077 in 1850. In 1855 the number had fallen once more to 49,342, but this was the lowest point it reached. The strength of the army rose again to 89,507 in 1860 ; it stood at 78,410 in 1865, and at 84,361 in 1870. There were considerable fluctuations in the number of men maintained for home service in each of the years from 1871 to 1876. The number was 82,472 at the end of 1871, 94,402 in 1872, 101,145 in 1873, 98,719 in 1874, 92,386 in 1875, and 96,275 in 1876. Of the total force in the United Kingdom in 1876, there were 68,253 men in England and Wales, 3895 in Scotland, 22,414 in Ireland, and 1713 in the Channel Islands. The numbers of regular troops on colonial service were gradually diminished in recent years. They were entirely withdrawn from Australia and New Zealand, and partly from British North America, a small force only being left in Nova Scotia. The chief military stations left were Malta, Gibraltar, the Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, Bermuda, and Hong Kong. The total number of the British forces in India was given at 62,652 men of all ranks in the army estimates of 1877-78. The recruits for the regular army were raised as follows from each of the divisions of the United Kingdom in the years 1871 to 1873 : Years. England and Wales. Scotland. Ireland. United Kingdom. 1871 18,015 1,547 2,365 ^1,927 1872 14,5-25 1,0% 1,836 7,507 1873 13,431 1,057 2,114 16,602 Deser- tious. Desertions from the army, mainly if not entirely by recruits, were formerly extremely numerous. But they tended to diminish in recent years, partly on account of im proved organization, under which better treatment is secured to the rank and file of soldiers, and partly by the option given to recruits to enlist either for &quot; long &quot; service of twelve years, or for &quot; short &quot; service of six years. In the year 1862 there were 4624 recruits approved, and among them there were no fewer than 2895 desertions, being more than one-half of the total ; but from among the 21,927 recruits of 1871 there were but 5861 desertions; while from 20,640 recruits enlisted in the year 1874 there were only 5572 desertions. Of the recruits of 1874, there enlisted 7784 on &quot; long &quot; service, and 12,856 on &quot;short&quot; service. Militia The army estimates enumerate, as constituting the forces yeoman- of the United Kingdom, besides the regular troops, four ry, and other bodies, classified as reserves, or auxiliary troops. These are the militia, the yeomanry cavalry, the volunteer corps, and the enrolled pensioners and army reserve force. The total number of the militia in 1877-78 was returned at 139,331, comprising a permanent staff of 4831, and 134,500 men in training service. For the same period the total number of yeomanry cavalry was 14,830, there being a permanent staff of 282, and 14,548 yeomen. The total number of volunteers provided for in the army esti mates of 1877-78 was 174,241, comprising 32,393 artillery volunteers, and 148,848 light horse, engineers, and rifle volunteers. Since its establishment, under a new organiza tion, in the year 1859, down to the end of 1876, the tota voluu teers. umber of volunteers who joined and passed through the iament in the session of 1877 : Total Number from Volunteers. 18S9 to 1876. Light Horse 515 Artillery 124,897 Engineers 20,739 Mounted Rifles 262 Rifle Volunteers 486,498 Total 632,911 The fourth and last branch of the reserves or auxiliary Enrolled troops of the United Kingdom, the enrolled pensioners, pension- were returned as numbering 36,000 in the army estimates ers of 1877-78. The enrolled pensioners are divided into two Jasses, 15,000 men forming the first, and 21,000 men the second division. Army Expenditure. The expenditure for the army, Army after nearly doubling from 1840-41 to 1861-62, remained expendi- almost stationary in the sixteen financial years from Vo 1 ?/ 1 ?, 111 1861-62 to 1876-77. It amounted to 15,570,869 in to 1861-62, and, gradually decreasing, fell to 13,804,450 in 1877-78. 1865-66, after which it rose again to 15,482,582. It ank once more to 13,430,400 in 1870-71, but rose in the financial year 1872-73 to 14,824,500 ; and changed little till the year 1876-77, when the disbursements for the army amounted to 15,749,717. The largest branch of expenditure is that for the general staff and regimental pay, for which 4,565,800 was set down in the army esti mates of 1877-78 ; and the next largest branch for provi sions, transport, and other services, fixed at 2,986,000 for the same year. The total cost of the auxiliary and reserve forces for the year 1877-78 was not more than 1,209,100, of which 534,000 was for the militia, 74,400 for the yeomanry cavalry, 468,700 for the volunteer corps, and 132,000 for the enrolled pensioners and army reserve force. Naval Expenditure. Although considered &quot;the bulwark Naval of the nation,&quot; and more important for the defence of the expend!- kingdom than its land forces, the navy is maintained at ^ Q m much less expense. However, the disbursements for the J877. navy increased very largely since the year 1840, when the old wooden &quot; three-deckers,&quot; formerly the pride of the seas, had to disappear, to give way, first, to iron ships propelled by steam, and, not long after, to armour-clad men-of-war, gradually assuming the shape of floating fortresses. In the financial year 1840-41 the total expenditure on account of the navy, including transport service, was 5,597,511; and in the next year, 1841-42, the cost rose to 6,489,074. In 1845-46 the naval expenditure had risen to 6,809,872, in 1846-47 to 7,803,465, and in 1847-48 to 8,013,873. After 1848 the expenditure for the navy remained nearly stationary for six years, till 1854, when it suddenly rose, with the setting in of the era of armour-clad ships. In the financial year 1854-55 the naval expenditure went up, with a leap, to 14,490,105 ; and in the next year, 1855-56, it reached the large sum of 19,654,585, an amount unparalleled before or since. The next few years showed a great reduction in naval expendi ture, which fell to13,459,013 in 1856-57, to 10,590,000 in 1857-58, and to 9,215,487 in 1858-59. There was another rise to 11,823,859 in 1859-60, and to 13,331,668 in 1860-61 ; but this was followed by a decrease to 12,598,042 in 1861-62, and to 11,370,588 in 1862-63. At the latter amount the expenditure for the navy remained, with unimportant fluctuations, till 1877, never rising much above 12 millions, nor sinking much below 10 millions. The naval expenditure amounted to 11,364,383 in the financial year ended March 31, 1877. Jfavy. In the naval estimates for the financial year
 * orce was as follows, according to a report laid before par-