No doubt the requirements of constitutional government must be considered and provided for. Indeed, it is essential that the naval and military services should be adequately represented in Parliament, and this principle was fully recognised in the years gone by. For instance, in 1829, when the Duke of Wellington was Prime Minister, and when our military expenditure was far less than now, the army was officially represented in the two Houses of Parliament as follows:-- Secretary of State, War, and Colonies General Sir George Murray,G.C.B. Commander-in-Chief General Lord Hill,G.C.B. Master General of Ordnance General Lord Beresford,G.C.B. Secretary at War General Sir Henry Hardinge,K.C.B. Clerk of Ordnance Rt. Hon. Spencer Percival Lieut.-General of Ordnance Lieut.-Gen. Lord Edward Somerset Surveyor General of Ordnance Major-Gen. Sir Henry Fane,K.C.B. Principal Storekeeper Colonel Trench Clerk of Deliveries General Phipps Secretary to Master General Colonel Lord Downes Treasurer of Ordnance William Holmes Paymaster-General Rt. Hon. J. Calcraft Judge Advocate General Rt. Hon. Sir John Beckett We must always bear in mind that the army is no mere inanimate piece of machinery. On the contrary, it is one of the most vital and powerful elements of the State; and its efficiency can only be maintained by placing the administration of its various departments in the hands of competent and experienced general officers, and investing them with adequate power. If I have dwelt at some length on this abstruse subject, it is because, having served both as Director of Artillery and Surveyor General of Ordnance, I have gained some insight into its difficulties, and feel earnestly the necessity of reorganising the department. Although the War Office, as will be seen, is a department of hard work and great responsibility, still even within its gloomy portals there are now and then incidents and stories of an amusing character. Many years ago, when the late Sir Cornewall Lewis was Minister for War, on one occasion he visited the infantry depot at Warley in Essex, and was shown a handsome room.[78] After admiring its proportions he inquired as to its use, when, suddenly observing a wooden vaulting horse at the far end of the building, he said: 'Oh! I see--the riding school.'