In the debate which was continued on Wednesday night Mr.
Arnold-Forster was the chief speaker on the Opposition side. It cannot be said, however, that the angry tone he adopted did any service to the MUSS which he was professing to support. We must also note his very objectionable attack upon Mr. Haldane for having listened to a lecture on the Swiss Army system by a distinguished Volunteer officer, in which the lecturer dealt with the " blue-witer " school. The lecturer may have somewhat overstated his case-- personally we think he did—but there can be no excuse for an ex-Secretary of State for War using such language as the following : "That a British officer should be silly enough in the presence of the Secretary for War to praise and hold up for admiration the organisation of an Army because the people of that country were not cursed with a ' blue-water' school was a strange departure from propriety—he would not say from sanity." In our opinion, the "departure from propriety—we will not say sanity," is far more to be found in the words of Mr. Arnold-Forster than in those of the Volunteer lecturer whom he chose to insult in the House of Commons. Sir Charles Dilke, who joined in the debate, spoke very strongly against the Government proposals.
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