LORD R. CHURCHILL'S SPEECH

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1578, 7 June 1887, Page 3

LORD R. CHURCHILL'S SPEECH

[bBXJTBB S TBLBGBAMB— COPYRIGHT.] London, Jane 5. Great sensation was caused by the speech of Lord Randolph Churchill, m which he unsparingly attacked the administration of the English Army and Navy. He asserted the expenditure annually increased, and that millions were wasted every year m the roost wanton manner through the utter incapacity of officials and the grossest mismanagement. In 1875 the Army cost fourteen millions and a half, while m 1886 the amount had swollen to eighteen and a half millions. The naval expenditure had increased from eleven millions m 1875 to twelve and a half last year. These enormous increases had been accompanied by steady deterioration m fighting capacity. The English army only numbered 150,000, yet Germany and France by the expenditure of twenty-one and twenty-nine millions respectively were able to maintain a force of one and a half millions of soldiers m an equal state of effectiveness. The armaments of the fortresses of England were not to be depended on. Both cannon and ships* were behind the age. The Commissariat was faulty, and incapacity was rampant everywhere. As an instance he cited the scandalous offer of the officials to protect the important position of King George's Sound with obsolete muzzleloaders. By making a thorough revolution m the personnel of the Array and Navy Departments it would be possible to effect a saving of millions annually, and at the same time to secure an improvement m both branches of the service. Lord Randolph Churchill also touched on the prevailing depression m Great Britain, and contended that the State should contribute towards the alleviation of the national distress. The purest policy was economy, but the true remedy, he added, was to broaden the basis of the State revenue by an extension of the tariff on such lines that, while securing additional revenue, it would appease the demands of fair traders without offending freetraders.