We realise that this was all that the Opposition could
do, but we greatly wish that they had been able to obtain from the Prime Minister a more definite undertaking that the scheme would not be acted upon until a formal and specific declaration of approval had been passed on it by Parliament. We are afraid, though it is an open secret that the scheme is not approved by the Cabinet as a whole, that Mr. Balfour will be too complacent or too weak to prevent Mr. Arnold-Forster from taking steps which will go very near to committing the nation to his plans. Is it not still possible to get a specific pledge from Mr. Balfour that he will not consent to any altera- tions during the recess ? If Mr. Arnold-Forster had been wise, he would have contented himself with a small practical scheme of reform suited to the precarious position of the Ministry, and not have rushed into a plan which requires at least three years of patient work to bring it to fulfilment. The abolition of the Garrison Regiments, the reduction of the Line by the recent additions, and the manning of the naval stations under the Admiralty, coupled with the reform of the re- cruiting system, should have been quite enough to occupy his energies.
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