Mr. Childers, on becoming Minister for War in 1880, at once took vigorous measures to bring to maturity the changes which had been instituted by Lord Cardwell, but of which some, from one cause or another, had been rather retarded. One of his first acts was to complete the localisation of the infantry regiments in counties, which had been so strongly recommended by Colonel Stanley's[122] Commission of 1877; and which is now exercising so beneficial an influence in welding the regular and militia forces, and in the gradual formation of local ties and associations. Another measure, introduced in 1881, was an increase in the pay and pension of non-commissioned officers, and the appointment of those in the higher grades as warrant officers. Essential as it is to maintain the system of short service for private soldiers, as affording the only method of creating a reserve and of giving strength and elasticity to the army in war, it is at the same time desirable that a proportion of the non-commissioned officers should be induced to prolong their duties in the ranks. The same difficulty, it may be observed, is felt, and the same remedy adopted, in the chief European armies, where considerable advantages as to pay, pensions, and ultimate civil employment are given to non-commissioned officers who extend their service. _Principles of Promotion and Retirement of Officers_ Amongst the many problems which have to be considered and solved by the War Office, none perhaps is more complex than that of providing a system of promotion for officers in order that a sufficient proportion of the most capable may attain to the higher positions at a time of life when their previous experience can be fully utilised. The great and real difficulty may be explained in a few words. In the army, as probably in every profession more or less, the number of employments available for the higher ranks is comparatively limited, whilst the junior branches are crowded with young men, all full of life and energy, gradually gaining experience, and all animated with the one laudable hope of rising to the top. In the military profession perhaps more than in others, the organisation of ranks is strictly defined as to numbers, and is supposed to require a considerable excess of officers in the lower grades, who, in time of peace at all events, have not adequate occupation, and some of whom as the years pass away, losing their zeal and activity, become unfitted for responsible posts, when their long deferred opportunity arrives.