" CRABBING- " THE TERRITORIALS.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.']
Sin,—Your correspondent of last week, " D. H. S.," has come in contact with some members of the National Service League who, from his statement, are in the habit of " crabbing " the Territorials. Personally I have not met these. I think your correspondent errs when he thinks that criticism is directed against individuals of the Territorial Army. I have the greatest admiration for the zeal, self-sacrifice, and patriotism of all ranks of the Territorial Force. I have long been associated with the old Volunteers, having had three hundred of them under my personal command during the South African War. Since then I have had the organisation and _ training of a Territorial division, and although I admire the individuals comprising the force, still I maintain that owing to its limited training and deficiency in numbers it cannot fulfil the only purpose for which it exists,—namely, t.ck defeat a highly organised and trained force of foreign
troops in the event of the Regular Army being employed elsewhere. The average number of drills performed by the Territorial infantry of a division in the North was eighteen hours in the year and eleven consecutive days passed in camp. Can "D. H. S." honestly say under such a system of training that the Territorials mill compete successfully against selected troops of a Continental force ? Your correspondent says he has had ten years' service in the Volunteers and Territorials, but he must remember that the average service of the old Volunteers did not exceed four years, and I pre- sume that will probably be about the average of the Terri- toHal; but even with this amount of experience, has he absolute confidence in himself ? In conclusion, he states, as regards tb- National Service League's proposals, he is of opinion that ninety per cent. of those belonging to his corps are against these proposals. My experience in the North is quite opposed to his. Of the large number of officers with whom I am acquainted in the Territorials, over ninety-five per cent. are most decided in their opinion that universal training is absolutely essential.—I am, Sir, &c.,
A. J. A. WRIGHT, Colonel, Organising Secretary, Yorkshire Branch,
York. National Service League.
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