THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1909. THE NEW BRITISH ARMY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3125, 27 February 1909, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1909. THE NEW BRITISH ARMY.

A cablegram from London this morning states that eleven thousand men have been recruited for the London Territorials. In the British Territorial .Army an experiment of high historic significance is seen, for the force represents the first attempt, to so systematise volunteers as t:> give them the efficiency and sufficiency of an army in the field. That this is the first effort of its kind ever made on anything like a large scale needs no demonstrating; what might imke it the la3t would be its failure, bringing the Government to the conclusion that the volunteer spirit did not give surety enough, and that inasmuch as military preparedness is vital, recourse must be had to compulsion in some form. The latter course, which

never s r'ously came within the range of practicability, fades farther from calculation as the force mounts up toward its allotted aggregate of 313.000; but it has been indicated by thi Government as an obvious alternative. Intrinsically, also, the force is experimental. Can volunteers be moulded into an effective and seifreliant army? And even if they can cculd England rely on that army to withstand an invasion in the absence of the Regulars? These are the I questions experience is expected to I answer, and in the n.eantime they are thoroughly discussed by a writer in the "Quarterly R.ev:ew." One of the conclusions arrived at is, "That an invasion on a scale sufficient to ensure success against 300,000 moder ately efficient second-line troops is not a reasonable possibility so long as our navy is available in superior strength to oppose the invader." That raises the pivotal issue, for "The fleet of England is her all-in-all," as Tennyson wrote, "And in her fleet her fate." The possible loss of seasupremacy might be temporary or permanent. Suppose the navy is lured away from home waters, as has happened, an invasion might be effected in the interval, though neither cause nor effect look likely, for the one reason that it would scarcely be practicable in these days to prepare a sufficient invading force in secret, and that in the light of knowledge which it would seem must leak out. the navy would stand steadfastly on guard. As for absolute naval defeat, in that dread event it i? very doubtful whether a conscripted army could save England, looking at the preponderance of military strength 1 which the enemy would probably possess, and remembering that England is not the spacious, thinlypopulated country that favours defensive guerilla warfare. The Territorials, therefore, must be estimated as no more and no less than ' a force designed to warn the potential invader against trying to take advantage of any opportunity that might be given him by an at least equal and probably superior navy—a citizen soldiery, well-trained and well-equ'pped, and including within itself the complete organisation of a self-reliant army. Criticism of the force and the sentiments that inspire the criticism are sharply representative of the two opposing parties, which long have ralher curiously distinguished the English attitude tcward military policy by their vigor and their extremism. On the one side nervousness or faddishness clamours for conscription; on the other, a Quakerish dislike of anything military or suggestively bellicose expresses itself in a resentment against all warlike preparations, ' which would be apt and admiraDle if it were only Bhared by all the other ' nations. From the mere truculent | view point. Lord Roberts has affirmed that the Territorials' artillery will be a danger to its own side. But Sir John French dissents from the older officer. Again, it is argued, most loudly by the political Opposition, that the numbers of the citizen army have be£n reduced. So they have, but it is a just assumption that the snail jr trained and equipped force will be much more valuable for practical purposes than the larger one that stood on a free and-easy footing. Besides, the model is the thing. If it proves satisfactory, the numbers can be increased, according to requirement, even up to a general levy. Here, however, is where the overzealous discountenancers of militarism come in. They object to large expenditure, and with such political force that "reform was urgently required, yet the country demanded economy The Government had to choose between numbers and efficiency; and considering the possible choice, strictly within the limits set by the country, the decision in favour of increased efficiency, even 'it the expense of numerical strength,must be accounted 1 a wise one." Yet it is significant that in forming the County Associations, which play such an important part in raising the force, men of wealth as well as position have been levied upon, apparently of set policy, as though in the view that they would give more than enthusiasm. So far, however, the real problem of numbers has upreared its Jf from among the classes who might have been expected to show keener interest in the scheme. It is not that there is a lack of patriotism in England, but that the necessity for evidencing it in preparation is not clearly recognised. Military service has always —broadly speaking—been voluntary there, and many" of the per.ple are slow to see that the conditions of warfare have so changed as to require greater individual proficiency, and therefore more systematic and prolonged trailing. Hence the slowness of the recruiting—which, however, has had a vigorous stimulus given to it within the last few weeks that promises early realisation of the establishment—and hence, also, the disinclination of some employers to make the small sacrificis-which the training of their employees involves. Fortunately both the potential soldiery and their employers are now perceiving mora clearly what a pertinent reminder to themselves is in the description of the Territorial force as "the last bulwark against consc-iption," and what a choice of inconveniences it suggests to them.