The expediency of reducing it, and remodelling the organization of the companies, had been under consideration for months; and it was believed that even after providing an adequate establishment of sappers and miners proportionate to the strength of the infantry, the numbers of the corps might be so diminished as to lessen its expense 5,000_l._ annually. Major-General Pilkington, the Inspector-General of Fortifications, laid down the rule that 100 sappers was a fair number to be attached to 4,000 infantry, subject, however, to augmentation in particular cases, according to the nature of the country in which operations might be carried on. On these data, Sir James Kempt ordered, on the 30th August, 1833, the companies of the corps to be compressed from seventeen into twelve, and the establishment to be reduced from 1,187 to 1,070 of all ranks. Under the same order, the eight general service and three survey companies were composed of the following ranks and numbers:— Colour- Ser- Cor- 2nd Bugl. Priv. Total. General sergeant. geants. porals. corp. Total. 1 2 3 3 2 80 91 for 11 Comps.= 1,001 The Corfu Comp- } any, paid by } the Ionian Gov- } ernment, was } 1 2 3 3 2 51 62 62 unchanged in } its establish- } ment, and } consisted of } _____ 1,063 The Staff, including Brigade-major, Adjutant, Quartermaster, } 2 Sergeant-majors, 1 Quartermaster-sergeant,[280] and } 7 1 Bugle-major, amounted to } _____ Making of all ranks a total of 1,070 ===== ----- Footnote 280: One quartermaster-sergeant was now reduced, and Francis Allen, who held the rank for twenty-two years, was discharged in October, 1833, and pensioned at 2_s._ 8½_d._ a-day, having completed a service of more than forty years. One of his sons, formerly in the corps, is foreman of works at Alderney, and another, until recently, was clerk of works in the royal engineer department, London district. ----- The distribution of the companies was fixed as follows:—