Turning to remedies, the only means•he saw of providing an
adequate . foreign-service Army was to make the soldier's life more attractive, and. his place and situation more tempting. That meant increased expense, but such expense would be economy if they selected the right man instead of wasting money as at present on unsound material,—for now only 47 per cent. of the recruits actually enlisted served their full time and passed into the Reserve. The Army, he contended, must be regarded as a fighting machine and not as a great national kindergarten. Hence be urged saving the money now spent on boys, and increasing the wages so as to obtain men. He accordingly advocated : (1) That every soldier should get ls. a day "all found and well found" instead of 6d. a day with dd. stoppages ; (2) increased pay for results, e.g., good conduct, and above all, marksmanship; (3) the application to the Army of the pension system adopted in the Civil Service. As regarded the Volunteers, he approved of the aim of the War Office to secure fewer but more efficient men, but condemned the cast-iron regulations of the Special Order, which threatened to destroy the Metropolitan corps. who are, and always have been, among the very best in Great Britain. He accordingly earnestly appealed to the War Office to pocket their pride and cancel their Order. The Duke of Bedford's speech heightens the reputation ho has already established as a serious and intelligent military critic.
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