BRITAIN'S SECOND LINE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 651, 14 March 1914, Page 6

BRITAIN'S SECOND LINE.

A RECORD IN RECRUITING.

By Telegraph.—Press Association—Copyright London, Wednesday.

In introducing inn Army Estimates yesterday. Colonel Seely, Minister for War, said thai, ahh ugh there was a sho tage of BUOU infantrymen there was a surplus of 13,000 reservists. The Bpeec ing op of mobilisation had proved remaikably successful, and there wbs now an expeditionary force of 162,000 men, complete in all dptails, and 50,000 of all arms ready in a few hours to go anywhere. Though the territorials were 56,000 short, Colonel Seelv stated that the year's recruiting had been the bigge9t on record, and there was a continuous and substantial increase in efficiency. He aid not hold that such an army wan able to meet every Imperial call. For this they would want >he help of the Dominions oversea, but the British. army was to cope with a bolt from the blue. The national reserve was now over 217,000 strong. If Britain went tomorrow, she would want 102,000 horses, and there were 275,000 available. It was untrue that foreigners were depleting the British supply. The t9Bts for accuracy, concluded the speaker, showed that the American rifle came first, and the British second, but the British was superior in all-round reliability.