In the course of his speech Mr. Wyndham mentioned that
there were nearly thirty thousand Colonial troops either in or on the point of leaving for South Africa. Of these about twenty-two thousand were from Cape Colony and Natal. The rest—some eight thousand—were from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the Empire. That is a, really magnificent achievement. But great as is the result actually achieved, the promise is even greater. If the Empire will do that for the present war, what would it not do for a war in which the existence of the Mother-country was seriously threatened ? We believe in all seriousness that the Empire's contribution would be, not eight thousand, but eighty thousand. And the eighty thousand would not be reluctant conscripts, but some of the finest fighting men in the world. No one can tell how many unwilling men there may not be in a German or French battalion. We know that there is not one in a Canadian or Australasian regiment when fighting for the Empire. One more point in Mr. Wyndham's speech is worth mentioning. He states that the provision of barrack accommodation works out at £120 per man. Yet Lord Rowton, in spite of the prices paid for London sites, for encaustic bricks, for eating-rooms and dining-rooms, for baths and foot-baths and hand-basins, all supplied with endless hot water, does the thing at £72 per man Evidently the War Office does not know how to build, and once again dear and nasty are shown not to be incompatible.
Previous page
