The Daily News. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1st, 1904. "ENGLAND THE UNREADY."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 26, 1 February 1904, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, FEBRUARY Ist, 1904. "ENGLAND THE UNREADY."

In a recenL book written bv Lord Wolseley, a soldier of the modem tyiH' anrl one who knows his business, the story of the soldier's life is told in a. frank, outspoken manner. Ami a Hue story it is ! The faithful, prosaic, hard-lighting Tommy Atkins is the oltject. of Lord Wolseley's unstinted admiration. 1W would Ixick a sVpiad of Dritish privates against all the luroiw of Iliad itsill ! J-low often do people remark on the seeming unreadiness of the British army organisation to meet the demands of war, and point to Oiiv c-irciiinwtinnces' disclosed in, connitlion with th« recent Jloer war. Writing on tins subject I.old Wolscley lashes with scorn " the meddlers and muddlers in military affairs" —the politicians—who plunge into war without preparation and undertake to manage a war without knowing the A It (! of tlii! wusincss. England, he says. •• is always the Unready .Nation," " We are never ready for war, and yet we never have a Cabinet who would dare to tell the people this truth. Our absolute uniV.«,J>,'::;s f»ir , war isj known to all our thoughtful soldiers, and. without nnv doubt, aU the details which go to make up the fact are duly recoKlid and docketed in the War Oilice of every European nation." The politicians. Lord Wolseley goes on lo say. may be clever, but llie.v are not soldiers and do not understand soldiers : they are not lo lie rounder; a-.s so many pawns on a chess board. •• Leave tin.- management of our li-i»'il ng men to soldiers," Hie General urges. " to mull of experience in our liritista Army of old renown, and do not parody us by appearing in public, for the nonce in a soldier's khaki coat." A general who IV Ms in the held is tried by coiirl-martial : but, says Lord Wolseley. since tile days when the sysUm of rrspons'ifilc Minister!-) was hrst, adopted there had never been a hanging, nor even a trial, of a Mjnister whose lolly or stupidity led him to -declare war when the armv was not readv to take the held. Dealing with an oft-made plea of ignorance l.orfl Wolseley speaks strongly, and asks of what greater crime can a War Minister be accused '.' If he be ignorant what right has he lo iill a place and draw its emoluments when he lacks the knowledge rei|uir<id for the proper and useful discharge of his duties ? This choice of Ministers for War for political reasons is an infamous, a foolish system, and sooner or later must land us in serious, if not in some disastrous, national calamity. The remedy for this state of affairs, Lor<l Wolseley considers, is the insistence by the people upon a ccr-

I Matte being annually laid before Parliament k,y the n.m-polkicnl Com-mander-in-Chief that lltu whole of the. military fortes of the Empire can be completely and effectively eiptipped for war in a fortnight ; or. should he be unable conscientiously to sign such a ceitilicitte, he shovlii be obliged to specil'v all military deficiencies. If this were made law the people would insist upon mobilisation arrangements being complete at 'all times, and Hut! arms and stores required to place in t,c livid all military forces were in the magazine and ready for issue. The remedy suggested in.this is a drastic one; but then how great is the ill, and how important the cute. The life of a nation may hang in the balance. With her military arrangements placed on a thoroughly sound footing; ami a system of t ransporl, suet as outlined in another column Britain may feel secure.