In the House of Commons on Thursday, in the course
of an Army debate, Mr. Long strongly condemned the promotion of "amateurs" over the heads of professional soldiers. We ate glad to note, however, that he was not aiming a shaft at either Lord Salisbury or Colonel Seely, two non-profeasionale who have been made Brigadiers. The attacks on Colonel Seely's appointment have been most unfair. He has bad some twenty years' service in the Yeomanry. He saw a great deal of hard fighting in South Africa, he commanded the Hampshire Yeomanry for several years, and he is admitted by all who know the facts to have been a thoroughly competalt commanding officer. We say without fear of contradiction that there have been dozens of professional soldiers made Brigadiers whose fitness for command, thongh they were in no way incompetent, bas been very distinctly below that of Colonel Seely. Here we should like to add that we feel very deep regret that certain critics of the War Office in the matter of Colonel Seely's promotion have actually gone so far as to encourage the notion that it was an insult to Canada. That was a monstrous and most unpatriotic suggestion. Colonel Seely is a man of quite exceptional gallantry, and we venture to say that he will be regarded by his brigade with affection and admiration for hi personal qualities. He has the true soldier's spirit hi every drop of his blood.
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