Excerpt from Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall Yard, 1865, Vol. 8 The improved method of sizing a company, as at present in force, by making the rear rank the same height as the front, and the faulty system still adhered to in some countries, of placing the most efficient men in the f rout rank, having been done away with, obviates the necessity of trying as much as possible to keep a certain rank in front, a rule which must necessarily hamper a commanding officer, and deprive him of that liberty of action which is absolutely necessary to enable him to show a front under all circumstances. There certainly is a sanction given in the drill-book for inverting the order of companies, but still why, instead of being sanctioned. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.