The Government have not yet published their scheme for giving
us a new army, but in all probability their proposals will be made on Monday. We can only say we hope that they will err, if at all, on the side of over-caution and over-preparation. On two points we would lay special stress. In organising the Volunteers into a real army by giving them not only regimental but brigade transport, we trust that the principle of devolution will be adopted. The War Office is too busy with other things just now to be able to provide transport as quickly as is required. Let them, then, tell every Volunteer commanding officer and every brigadier to procure his own transport locally, waggons, harness and horses, by purchase or hire, and to send in the bill,—provided it shall not be above a fixed sum, liberally calculated. That is the first essential of any scheme that is to work smoothly. The next point is the obtaining the services of a large proportion of the trained men in the country. The Volunteer Reserve should be organised as Volunteers, but from the men trained in the Army and Militia and Yeomanry a body of Regulars should be enlisted and embodied on liberal terms for home defence, one year or the duration of the war being the period of service. As to naval preparations, we can only say that though we appreciate the patriotic and determined tone of Mr. Goschen's speech we do not feel cobvinced that enough is being done. To say that naval preparations would be pro- vocative is absurd. The Powers know perfectly well that we do not mean to attack them. Naval preparations, each as the keeping of a large fleet in home waters, are obviously defensive and nothing else.
