Lord Roberts made another remarkable speech at the dinner of
the Kentish Men and Men of Kent Territorial Association on Wednesday. He was glad of the opportunity to explain his Manchester speech, which had been misinterpreted as an attack upon the Territorial Force. He admired enormously the patriotism and self-sacrifice of the Force, but events had made it a failure in discipline, a failure in numbers, a failure in equipment, and a failure in energy. Only discipline, for instance, could enable men to wait coolly in a punishing fire zone. How could there be such discipline with the small amount of training given ? As to numbers, the establishment of 315,000 men bore no relation to the requirements of war, and the Force fell far short even of that stipulated strength. As to equipment, the rifle and gun of the Force were quite out of date. As to energy, that of individual members was excellent, but the "corporate energy" of the Force was inadequate. The condition that six months' training was to be given after the outbreak of war was preposterous. Suppose we were defeated within four weeks, like the Turks ! He held that it was the duty of the members of the Force, while setting the fine example they had already set, to make the Government and the nation understand that they were not in a position to carry out the duties entrusted to them.
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