In the House of Lords on Thursday Lord Midleton called
attention to the strength of the Army at home, and expressed the fear that the attention of the public and the Government had been deflected from the Regulars by the great interest taken in the organisation of the Territorial Force. It was not sufficiently realised that the Regular Army had more need of advocates than the Territorial Army. Mr. Haldane had made a net reduction of a million in the Army Estimates. What had we lost for that million? We had lost between 1905 and 1908 over thirty-six thousand officers and men, and by 1910 the Reserve would be less by twenty-seven thousand men. Our artillery was weaker than that of any Army in Europe. Artillery could not be improvised, for partially trained batteries were like partially trained battleships, only a danger to their own side. Lord Portsmouth denied Lord Midleton's allegations in regard to the artillery, and declared that owing to the use of Special Reservists for work which they were quite capable of doing, they would have high-class gunners for all our batteries without extra cost. Instead of having, as at present, only men for forty-two batteries all equally trained, though allotted different duties, we shall be able to man adequately and efficiently the sixty-six batteries required for the expeditionary force, for which we already have the guns.
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