LORD ROBERTS'S MANIFESTO.
IT is with sincere regret that, in reading the Manifesto of Lord Roberts which is published to-day in the Press, we are driven to the ,conclusion that a great oppor- tunity has been missed. With many of his proposals we are in cordial agreement. As president of the National Service League, he defines its objects as, in the first place, to ensure the peace of the Empire by. making our defensive arrangements so perfect as to render attack improbable, and, in the second place, "to improve the moral and physical conditions of the nation, and thereby to increase its industrial efficiency." To secure these ends the League advocates universal physical training of a military character and instruction in the use of the rifle as part of the curriculum of all schools, and, in the case of boys who leave school before eighteen, the continuing of this training in Cadet corps and similar institutions under State supervision. All this is admirable and to the point, and, as our readers know, in the case of the physical training of a military character, including the use of the rifle, the exact policy which has been for years past advocated by the Spectator. But Lord Roberts goes on to define the ultimate ideal of the League as follows :— " That subject to certain exemptions to be defined by law, every man of sound physique, without distinction of class, shall be legally liable during certain years of his life to be called out for service in the -United Kingdom in case of emergency.
That in order to fit himself for this duty he shall be legally obliged to undergo a course of three or four months' naval or military, training when he arrives at the military age."
These proposals we can only consider a great tactical blunder. They involve compulsory service for home defence, and for that purpose a certain amount of com- pulsory military training. We do not deny that there is much to be said for the view, but a statesman has to deal with things as they are,—the conditions of the national life and the prejudices and convictions of the national tempera- ment. In time to come it is possible that events may compel us to abandon, or partially abandon, voluntaryism in military questions ; but that time is not yet, and till it arrives it is impossible to ignore the strong preposses- sions of our people against any form of compulsory service. While these exist we can only ensure an efficient defence by strengthening patriotic feeling, by making the conditions of voluntary service unburclensome and attrac- tive, and by providing the basis for such voluntary service by universal physical training in the schools. It is idle to attempt a scheme with which the nation is out of sympathy. If we once disregard the facts of the case and follow an abstract ideal, we should. be compelled to make the Volunteers Regulars, because on the whole a Regular represents a higher stage of military development. We must take what we can get, and acknowledge that the half is greater than the whole, if the whole is unattain- able. Now one thing we can get. The people have long ago made up their mind on the subject of compulsory ectucation, and every thinking man of both parties is prepared to give this education a physical as well as a literary character. Leading Radicals like Dr. Macnamara are as earnest in their advocacy of the reform as Lord Roberts himself. We are faced with a new Education Bill, and. in the process of revising our educational system it would be easy. to give effect to these principles. But if their advocates once declare that, instead of being a buttress to the voluntary system, they are a first step to compulsory service, suspicion and opposition will at once be aroused. As our readers know, we are firmly convinced that the defences of this country can only be organised on a voluntary basis. But even if the National Service League take the opposite opinion, it would. surely be the wisest course to concentrate their efforts on what is obtainable, and. not to compromise their success by linking to it what is in any case disputable and remote. We fear, then, that certain clauses in the Manifesto will do much to weaken the chances of that very practical reform which it lays down as its foundation.
While we feel that a tactical blunder has been com- mitted and. a great opportunity lost, we hasten to add that with most of Lord Roberts's proposals we heartily agree. The physical deterioration of its citizens is the gravest menace with which a State can be faced. If we are to have defenders, we must first secure healthy manhood.. More, if we are to maintain our industrial supremacy, it is important that we should. see that all classes have the physical stamina which' is the ultimate basis of efficiency. Granted. this duty, it is a short step to the' ,further obligation,—to make all our future citizens capable of giving effect to their patriotism. Lord Roberts rightly insists upon instruction in patriotism and civic duty in the schools. At a time when a boy's character is in the making much may be done to inspire him with the sense that he is not an isolated being, but a member 'ofa'' great community which gives him a status, and exacts from him in return certain services. He can be taught ' while at school the rudiments of drill and how to handle a, rifle, and if he leaves school early the State has a right to insist that his education in this respect shall be continued. up to a certain age. Having done this, having Created the' sense of duty and given him the preliminary training, the State ceases to exercise compulsion. But the organisation must be created for carrying on the work. Rifle clubs' should be encouraged by the national and local authorities in which he can continue his training. Everything should he done to make it easy for him to become a member of a: Volunteer corps. He should have been taught to regard service in the Volunteers as a natural development of his education, just as a boy who has acquired the love of books goes on reading when his schooldays are over. We believe that by this means in time the Auxiliary Forces will attract all the manhood of the country which is worth attracting. Compulsory service would only give us an unwilling, and therefore largely incompetent, levy. But if the foundations are well laid, we shall have the most potent of all forms of compulsion,—that of a genuine interest and a genuine public spirit.
The National Service League is not blind to the merits of the Volunteers. We regret, as we have said, that it should. regard their efficiency as a step to compulsory service, for this is the surest way to revive the bogey of militarism among the timid. If we are right, and the voluntary is for Britain the natural principle, then it is not a step to compulsion, but a substitute for it. But so, far as concerns practical reform Lord Roberts's advice, could not be bettered. He urges "the organisation of the Auxiliary Forces into brigades, divisions, &c., with the necessary Staff and equipment, as an indispensable first step towards their being able to take the field as a mobile, force in the absence of the whole or the greater part of the Regular Army." If the Auxiliary Forces are our second line of defence, it is our business to organise them to a maximum of efficiency. And this can only be done by recognising their essential character as a voluntary force,. and making their conditions of service harmonise with that character. Hitherto this has been forgotten. The authorities have been prejudiced or apathetic, or when they have been goaded into activity they have misunder- stood the nature of the • materials before them and laid. down impossible conditions. Instead of saying to the citizen : "What can you reasonably give the State in the way of service ? " they have laid down their own terms and left him to take or leave them. In a word, they have interpreted voluntaryism in the spirit of conscription. Mr. Haldane has a great opportunity before him. The nation is a little weary of men who will not look at the facts, and in the new War Minister they have found a man who has a very clear insight into realities and a very scanty respect for catch- words. The defence of the country is above the disputes. of parties, and Lord. Roberts's appeal to the country to unite on this vital question will not fall upon unwilling ears. But we would earnestly remind the National Service League that the first thing to do is to concentrate on the non-controversial points—the training in the schools and' the reorganisation of the Auxiliary Forces—and not to complicate their appeal by holding forth an ideal which we believe to be mistaken, and which at 'all events is disputable.
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