Such arbitrary proceedings as these, were generally abuses of power, with which many men are unfit to be entrusted; and from habit we really thought little of such matters, and the soldiers themselves were only thereby rendered the more callous. I declare, however, that I am at a loss to say, which is preferable--the prompt manner of acting in our navy, where a captain when he orders the punishment of a man, does so on his own serious responsibility, or that of a commanding officer of a regiment, who can generally act as he pleases, whilst all he does is sanctioned by a court martial. I could easily bring forward many occurrences which would show in the strongest light, how much a serious consideration of both our old and present system in the army, as regards punishments, is required; but so heartily do I detest flogging, that my thoughts have been long directed to devise means of getting rid of it; but I always tremble at the obvious alternative--_capital punishments_--which must be resorted to, and I should fear, very frequently, as in the French armies, especially upon service, as a substitute for flogging for the maintenance of discipline; for an army without it, is, as the Duke of Wellington observed in one of the orders I have given, a rabble, and must be far more dangerous to the country to which it belongs, than formidable to its enemies. For years past, I have given this subject most serious consideration. I have weighed all its difficulties, and I can see no way of doing away with flogging in a British army, so long as it is composed of the present description of men. But I am inclined to hope, and I must now beg that all I have to say may be heard with patience--that this most desirable object may be attained by a completely new organisation of our regiments, and bringing into their ranks a totally different description of men, from those who generally offer themselves as recruits--men with other ideas, and altogether other feelings.