were not worth the paper on which they were written. Out of the web which was so honestly spun, the company, in time of war, made its inevitable escape, and asserted yet again its right to be called the Artillery unit. On the signing of the Treaty of Peace, at Amiens, on the 27th March, 1802, immediate reductions were ordered in the military forces of England. In the Royal Artillery they took the form of reductions in the strength of the companies; and the following was the scheme, approved by the Master General, on the recommendation of Colonel Macleod. The short-lived amity between the French and English Governments did not admit of the reductions being altogether carried out; but it is interesting to see how they were proposed to be conducted. [Sidenote: Proposal agreed to on 7 Dec. 1801.] --------------------+------+------+-------+-----+-----+-----------+------ |Serge-|Corp- |Bombar-|Gunn-|Drum-|Non- |Total. |ants. |orals.|diers. |ers. |ers. |effectives.| --------------------+------+------+-------+-----+-----+-----------+------ Present strength of | | | | | | | one Battalion | 40 | 40 | 70 | 980| 30 | 30 |1,190 Proposed strength | 30 | 30 | 60 | 700| 30 | 30 | 880 +------+------+-------+-----+-----+-----------+------ To be reduced | 10 | 10 | 10 | 280| .. | .. | 310 +------+------+-------+-----+-----+-----------+------ Total reduction in }| | | | | | | seven Battalions }| 70 | 70 | 70 |1,960| .. | .. |2,170 --------------------+------+------+-------+-----+-----+-----------+------ _N.B._ Of the above number of men to be reduced, there were about 680 men from the Militia, who were entitled to their discharge. This reduction left the proportion of non-commissioned officers to gunners the same as before, viz. 1 to 6. During the American War, it had been as 1 to 5; after the peace of 1783, it fell to 1 to 7; and during the earlier wars of the French Revolution it rose to 1 to 6. The strength of the Corps of Gunner-drivers in 1802 was as follows: Seven troops, each consisting of-- 1 Captain-Commissary. 2 Lieutenants-Commissary. 2 Staff-Sergeants. 4 Sergeants. 6 First Corporals. 6 Second Corporals. 6 Farriers. 3 Smiths. 4 Collar-Makers. 4 Wheelers. 150 Gunner-drivers. 25 Riding Horses. _Staff._--1 Quartermaster. 1 Veterinary Surgeon.