Last Saturday the King, accompanied by the Queen and Princess
Mary, reviewed the two London divisions of the Territorial Force in Hyde Park. The King afterwards con- veyed to Sir A. E. Codrington, who was in command, his satisfaction with the steadiness of the troops on parade, and with the march past. The praise was no doubt thoroughly well deserved, but it is impossible for any Londoners to com- pliment themselves on the fact that there were fewer than 15,000 men on the parade. Out of an establishment of 208 companies, according to the account in the Times, only 147 weak companies were present. The Duke of Connaught led the London Irish past "with a total strength behind him that would not have made two service companies." It is to be remembered that a review by the King in Hyde Park is the most popular of all military shows. There is always a vast number of spectators. If in these circumstances London could put forward only 15,000 men—London with a popula- tion larger than the whole Bulgarian nation, which supports an army of 500,000—it is certain that the voluntary principle Las ceased to operate in any defensible sense.
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