QUARTERMASTER. In the army, the is a staff officer of high_ rank, whose duty it is to arrange the marches, quarters, and internal arrangements of the army to which he belongs. Every army has some officer of this department; from a brigade with a deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general, receiving £173 7s. 6d. a year besides regimental pay, up to a complete army under a commander-in-chief, with a quar termaster-general, who is usually a general officer, and receives £691 19s. 7d. per annum, besides his other pay. At headquarters there is a permanent quartermaster-general, responsible for all the movements of the army, the organization of expeditions, camps of instruction, etc. He receives £1500, besides his pay as a general officer, and has a. sub-department at the war-cffice, with clerks, etc. He is under the officer commanding in chief, and the adjutant-general. The quartermaster is an officer on the staff of each regiment, in which he holds the relative rank of lieut. His duties are to superintend, assign to their respective occupants, and have charge of, quarters, barracks, tents, cloth ing, etc., used by the regiment. He is also regimental storekeeper. He rises, with scarcely an exception, from the ranks, the experience of an old sergeant being considered highly useful in the office. The quartermaster has no further promotion to look forward
to; hut after 30 years' service in all—including 10 as an officer—he may retire with the honorary rank of capt. He receives 10s. 2d. a day in the cavalry, and 8s. 2d. in the infantry, rising by length of service to 15s. 2d. and 13s. 2d.; with slightly different rates in the guards, engineers, etc. He is not required to join the mess. The quartermaster sergeant is a non-commissioned officer appointed to assist the quartermaster in his various duties. He receives daily 4s. 5d. in the cavalry, 4s. in the artillery, 2s. 11d. in the infan try of the line.
In the navy, the quartermasters are certain petty officers appointed in each ship by the capt. to have charge of the stowage of ballast and provisions, of coiling ropes, attending to the steering, keeping time by the sand-glasses, etc. The principal of these men is called the ship's quartermaster, and receives £41 ls. 3d. per annum, if engaged for continuous service; £36 10s. if otherwise: