All this proves that the knowledge and experience of the staff of a British army were, at that period, at a very low ebb; but matters were afterwards greatly improved, and the valuable time of the staff saved, which was thrown away in attending for orders, by Lord Wellington ordering the distribution of printed copies of general orders for departments, divisions, brigades, and regiments; but, still, too much of the time of the non-commissioned officers, who might have been much better employed in assisting their officers in looking after the soldiers, was always taken up in the field, in writing out orders for their respective companies. This ought to be dispensed with altogether. The corps should be quickly assembled in square, or close column, and the orders or regulations, which should be few in number, as almost every thing could be arranged before hand at the Horse Guards, ought to be read distinctly to them by the commanding officer, a field officer, or the adjutant; and when thus assembled, any explanations, or farther directions, which might be necessary, could be given, and the orders themselves more forcibly impressed upon the minds of the soldiers, which is rarely properly done, if left to company officers, or non-commissioned officers. This plan would not only save much time, but also prevent many mistakes from happening. It is not my intention here, nor in any other part of this work, to be unnecessarily minute in bringing matters before the readers; or at present to enter fully into the various details of the duties of staff officers; and I may, therefore, only now observe, and I shall not hesitate in doing so to take advantage of the suggestions, or hints, of any military writer, when it may suit my purpose, that the duties or functions of the staff, which have hitherto, with us, been only determined by what was considered custom, or by some obsolete modes of practice, which, after much trouble, may, perhaps, be found scattered through numerous orders and regulations, which from time to time, have been issued by various commanders, or in books which have no claim whatever to be considered official; and so completely is this the case, that the practice of modern warfare makes it desirable, and even indispensable, that where any authority may be attached to them, they ought to be annulled or suppressed, and a new system, constructed on a wise, and, if it can be done, on a limited scale, soon promulgated, as the established regulations of the army, which would render it scarcely possible, that mistakes, as to staff duties, could hereafter happen when brought into practice; for, in the field, the slightest misunderstanding, or disputing about points, perhaps in themselves trivial, might destroy that unity and rapidity of acting, which is so essential towards ensuring success in war.