A CORPS OF COUNTY GUIDES.

ALS our readers know, we have again and again pointed out that one of the best ways of making Britain safe from invasion would be, in addition to teaching the male population the use of the rifle, first at school and afterwards in rifle clubs, to create a simple and appro- priate organisation by means of which the country people throughout the kingdom could be made of use for, re- pelling the attacks of a foreign enemy. We have no more belief in collecting armed mobs of civilians than have the most professional of professional soldiers, for we know that civilians happening to have arms in their hands could not be moved, or in any way made use of, in great aggregations. We do believe, however, that the men on the spot in any given area, if properly organised and if " rifle-worthy," to use an Anglo-Saxonism, might be of the greatest possible service. They would not require to be moved in trains or along main roads, and so choke our main arteries of communication, or to have commissariat or transport provided for them, because they would be already on the spot and capable of moving within their own area and of feeding themselves. They would, that is, not want to be given the gift of mobility, that incomparable gift to produce which an army may be said to be always in travail, because they would be localised,—i.e., already on the spot. No doubt to be on the spot is not nearly as important as to be not only on the spot, but also able to move rapidly hundreds of miles away from the spot; but it is, we contend, worth a good deal in an emergency, and any organisation which would make the men on the spot available for military pur- poses would, we are certain, be of no little value. To put the matter in a concrete shape, we hold that if a General with an army corps were taking up a position along the North or South Downs, or on the sandhills between them, and knew that the adult male population in those districts could be called out and placed at his disposal to defend selected positions, to dig trenches, and to act as guides, he would be glad to avail him- self of their services, and would not say that he had no use for them and would be better without them. Un- questionably he would use them for what they were worth. But if that is admitted, then assuredly it is worth while to establish a simple and appropriate organisation for making such local levies available. And remember that no such organisation could be established in war-time or in the face of the enemy. It must be created in peace-time or not at all, for confusion is the note of war even when most success- fully and scientifically waged. No new system could be created in the fog of war and in the face of the enemy.

In a most useful and original paper read by Colonel Davidson—the officer commanding the Artillery in the North-Eastern District—at the United Service Institu- tion on Thursday a scheme for such an organisation as we desire was described, and described not only in the abstract, but as being got ready to be put into operation in the North-Eastern District. It may be remembered that a year or more ago a scheme for a Corps of Guides in every county in the United Kingdom was sketched in a letter, and also in a leading article, in our columns. It was a, scheme of this kind, developed and improved, that Colonel Davidson expounded on Thursday. In case, however, our readers may have forgotten the details, we will set them forth in the words of an explanatory Memorandum circulated in the places where a Corps of Guides is actually being formed. The Memorandum explains that in the event of invasion officers and men of the Auxiliary Forces might be em. ployed in districts and parishes other than those with which they are familiar. Troops might also be sent down to protect the coast who have had no previous acquaint- ance with this part of the country. " The object, there- fore, is to have a register of the names of persons who know the country well, and who would be willing, in case of emergency, to put their local knowledge at the service of the Troops, who would give Officers and Men the in- formation as to bridle-paths, gates in boundary fences, crossing-places, fords, watering-places, and the like, which the best of maps do not offer, and who would guide large or small parties from place to place on horse or foot or on bicycles." Accordingly the establishment of a Corps of Guides for each county is proposed. " Persons who join the Corps of Guides will undertake no liability ; they will not be bound for any term of service, or in any way what- ever. All they have to do is to pursue their usual vocations till the necessity for their services occurs. But should such emergency ever unfortunately arise, the Military Authori- ties, instead of having to enquire who will help them, will only have to refer to the Register of Guides to see who can do so, and to what extent." The Guides are to be organised as :—" (1) Chief Guides—As such the following would be valuable : Hunting gentlemen, land owners, land agents, in a large way of business, who know both the roads and the bye-roads, woods, etc., over a large extent of country. (2) District Guides—Men like the foregoing, only of less wide knowledge ; estate bailiffs, relieving. officers, school attendance officers, registration agents, sanitary inspectors, road surveyors ; also members of cycling clubs, leaders of stallions, medical men, veterinary surgeons, etc. (3) Parish Guides— Clergymen, estate bailiffs, farmers, game-keepers, rabbit trappers, rate col- lectors, fishermen, shepherds." The Memorandum ends by the statement : " Beyond giving in their names, all that members of the Corps of Guides will be asked to do will be to answer some questions as to their qualifica- tions, and to fill up once a year a post card saying if their address remains the same. ' In addition to this very sensible and straightforward explanation of the objects in view, a paper has also been pre- pared to be filled in by all persons agreeing to become Guides, in which their qualifications are stated. We print this document in full, as if the Guide movement spreads, as we trust and believe it will, it may be convenient to our readers to have a copy easily accessible :—

"CORPS OF GUIDES.

In the event of National Emergency I am willing to put my local knowledge at the service of the Military, and I desire that my name may be registered as a Guide accordingly.

I do this on the understanding that except in the case of actual or apprehended invasion no one has any claim upon me, and that at any time previous I can remove my name from the Register, by giving notice in writing to that e'.7:.%t to the Officer Commanding.

Name Date (1) Occupation (2) Address for Letters (3) Nearest Telegraph °Mee, and Distance

(4) Year of Birth......

(5) State if you ever served in any branch of His Majesty's Forces ; and if so,

what Bank you held when you left

(6) Do you Bide ?

(a) Habitually (b) Only a little ............ (c) Not at all............

(7) Do you Bicycle?

(a) Habitually (b) Only a little .. (c) Not at all............

(8) Do you use a Bide ? (a) Habitually (6) Only a little (c) Not at all

(9) Give the Names, in alphabetical order, of the Parishes in which you know the Bonds.

(10) In which of these do you also know the Woods and Bye-paths ?

(11) Kindly write on the back the names and addresses of any person in your neighbourhood whom you would recommend me to invite to join the Corps of Guides."

Though in its present form the Corps of Guides is only intended to supply men to perform Guides' duties, we see no reason why it should not be expanded in connection with the rifle club movement so as to provide an organisa- tion for the whole of the male population capable of using the rifle, and not included in any other military force. That is, it might be arranged that there should be " Head Pariah Guides," and that these should obtain the names of as many persons as they could in the parish as Parish Guides. If possible, the whole of the men capable of bearing arms in the parish should be registered. That is, the term " Guide " should not be given too exclusive a sense, and men should be accepted as Guides though their profession or calling might not make them specially qualified to lead troops across country. That duty would devolve on the Chief Guides, the District Guides, and the Head Parish Guides, who might, by the way, be elected by the Parish Guides. The ordinary Parish Guides would be, as it were, the rank-and-file, while the District Guides and the Head Parish Guides would act as their officers. There is no reason why the Guides should wait for an invasion before being called up. It seems to us that in all manceuvres the Guides should put themselves at the disposal of the General commanding the force represent- ing the defenders. Again, in the case of Staff rides and small field days or tactical exercises Guides should be called for. They could hardly help being of use, and the duties performed could hardly help proving very interest- ing to the Guides. -While teaching the soldiers the quickest way, they would learn much as to what soldiers can and cannot do when in masses. A District Guide who had once or twice guided troops across country at manceuvres would be ten times as useful in case of active service as a man who, though he had great local knowledge, had only moved about alone. Think of the extra usefulness of a Guide who, when asked what sort of a place such-and- such a hillside was, could say : " Well, I guided General Blank up there two years ago, and when he got there he said it wasn't half as good a position as any one would think from looking at it from a distance. He said that when you actually took up your ground the field of fire was very poor." A man who had merely hunted over the ground would be able to give a far less good account of it than one who had three or four times ridden over it by the side of a General or an umpire, and heard his observations on it.

One more matter remains to be noticed. It seems to us that each Chief Guide should be given two or three dis- tricts in a county with which to keep in touch, and each District Guide one or two parishes. In. this way the Guides would become a coherent body. It might also be arranged that all Chief Guides, District Guides, and Head Parish Guides should wear a distinctive badge, and at local rifle meetings and athletic sports special com- petitions might be established for Guides. A Guides' dinner once a year, again, would be a natural way of keeping the principal Guides in a county in touch with each other.

But these are details. The essential thing is to estab- lish an organisation on Colonel Davidson's lines through- out the kingdom, county by county. The Lords-Lieutenant seem the natural persons to put the thing in motion, and it is, therefore, to them that we appeal to take the matter up and carry it through. Where a Lord-Lieutenant is too old or too busy to undertake a new piece of work, there is not the slightest reason why he should not nominate an active Deputy-Lieutenant to act for him and in his name. What better name could be given to such an officer than the Cromwellian title of Master of the Scouts ?