Lord Roberts went on to say that he did not
blame any particular Government, for a Government only reflected national sentiment, and if that sentiment was apathetic, so also would be the action of the leaders. He told the people of the country that their Army was in- adequate to the tasks it might have to face, and he appealed to them to insist upon its reorganisation. We did not need a large standing Army, but behind it there must be a Reserve large enough to mobilise all the Regulars, and to provide for such expansion as circumstances might require. The main body of the Reserve must be formed by the Auxiliary Forces and the manhood of the country generally, and it was for the people to decide whether the Reserve should be created by conscription or by some system of universal training. We are glad that our greatest soldier should have spoken out so manfully on this question. In spite of the moderation of his language, his speech was a crushing condemnation of the Army policy of the present Government. We would note also some admirable remarks by Lord Goschen, who criticised Mr. Balfour's declaration against the possibility of invasion. It was impossible, he said, to dogma- tise on such matters, since the unforeseen was always prone to happen, and the declaration would have a deplorable result if it tended in any way to discourage the Volunteers, or to "produce an impression in the country that our efforts were to be relaxed because our splendid Navy had given a guarantee that our shores were inviolable."
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