The Daily News. TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 1912. IS BRITAIN PREPARED?

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 257, 30 April 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 1912. IS BRITAIN PREPARED?

A very important statement was made by the British Government in the House of Commons last month relative to the preparedness of the British Army in case of war. Lord Charles Beresford opened the attack on the question of the army rifle, the chief defect of which seems to be its high .trajectory. To this the Under-Secretary replied that at the higher ranges, 800 yards and over, our rifle had a remarkable superiority over foreign arms. The greater the range the greater the advantage. The Government , of the day at the time of the Boer war deliberately chose a rifle with a higher trajectory than the Boer arm, and the Government was right. Mr. L. S. Amery, the editor of "The Times' History of the Boer War," made a telling attaok oa. the War Office on the ground of its unpreparedness for war. Colonel Seely, the Under-Secretary for War, launched into his defence with eagerness and vigor. Mr. Amery, he said, had told the House that at the start of the South African war we could not send even a small force required to reinforce Natal, without withdrawing troops from India and our Eastern garrisons. That was true. In 1899 we could not send 20,000 or 10,060 men or less, to Natal, without withdrawing men from India, Ceylon and other Eastern possessions. "Now," he continued, taking up a despatch from the table, "I hold in my hand an envelope addressed to the hon. member with an enclosure—as I would send to any member of the House who desired to receive it, upon condition that it should be considered secret and confidential—from which it will be seen that, supposing we wanted to send reinforcements to Natal to-morrow, without withdrawing a single man from any of our Eastern garri sons, we could send, within a very few days, transport being arranged, 150,000 men fully equipped with arms, ammunition, provisions and stores and reinforcements for three months." Mr. Amery rose. Colonel Seely said he must be allowed to proceed. He was concerned that statements should be made in reference to our military preparedness which might have a grave effect on our position in the world. On the word "mobilisation" being given—if that word were given today—within a few days 150,000 troops, with all necessary ammunition, provi-

sions ahd stores could be despatched, and reinforcements would be ready. Now this marked the most extraordinary advance in the whole history of this country. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before. It was the result of yrars of thought, effort and experience, iiiul it had been arrived at by cutting down redundances and setting up necessaries. We stood in a position quite' extraordinary in Tegard to an offensive force as compared with the time mentioned by the hon. member, or even six or seven years ago, and to say we were in no better position was to trifle with the committee. It was eminently desirable that there should be promotion from the ranks. There was at the War Office a list of non-commissioned officers suitable for commissions reported by their officers as having every quality fitting for promotion. The desire of the War Office to get officers who were intellectually fully equipped for their positions made it almost impossible in time of peace for a man promoted from the ranks to hold his own intellectually in examinations with officers who had come in by the usual way. The promotions from the ranks were deplorably few, and had in past years diminished. But in time of war men would be promoted from the ranks on a large scale. In regard to the rifle, the Government could not begin the manufacture of the automatic rifle, because they had not yet found one which would work—nor had anybody else throughout the world. They intended to have the best rifle of all the Powers of Europe. Britain had the best rifle now—not the best rifle conceivable, but a rifle bettor than other people's. Other people, however, were going to get a new rifle, and his Majesty's Government wished to be first. That was why they now wanted a new rifle. As to horses, they were more ready for war than they formerly were, but he admitted not so ready as they ought to be. In the matter of light cavalry horses, although not so ready as Britain might be, they were more ready than other Powers. At present, owing to the want of that long systematic training, the average life of a horse was considerably less in our service than in that of another great nation. The Government hoped soon to be in a position to say that no horse should go on mobilisation till he was six years old, and that he should remain on a grass farm till he was approximately 4% years old. When the whole scheme was in working order he believed the cavalry would be not only much more ready for war than it was now, but far. more ready than that of any Continental nation. Asked by Lord Claud Hamilton how many regulars would be left in the Kingdom when the expeditionary force of 150,000 had left, Colonial Seely said it was generally assumed that the total would be 410,000, from which they have to deduct a little over 250,000 for the territorial force. That left approximately 150,006 of 160,000 of the regular forces and special reserve, and of that 110,000 were regulars and the remainder special reserve who were hot required on the first mobilisation. The'general staff were of opinion—and the Secretary of State authorised him to say this—that when the expeditionary force had left, Britain, taking into-account the. relative strength of the navy and all the surrounding circumstances, was safe from invasion. Thii is probably the most reassuring statement regarding the Army made by the present Government. It shows that a marked improvement has been wrought in recent years in the British military system, and that in time of emergency the Old Country will not be caught napping, as she has so often been in the past. Still, unless things on the Continent take a different course, Brieam will before long have to do what we are attempting in this country, compulsorily train every young man in the use of arms. And even if the men never have to face the-fire of an enemy, they and the nation will on moral and! physical grounds fce the better for tke training.