THE NEW VOLUNTEER REGULATIONS.
. [To TEE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR.")
Sra,—Volunteers have often had cause to be grateful for your powerful advocacy of their cause, and never more so than recently. Will you allow me to endorse every word written by your correspondent "H. F. P." in the Spectator of March 7th ? He, however, puts too great a strain upon, credulity in assuming that the starvation policy to which the Volunteers are subjected is due to "want of knowledge by those in authority." Surely it is more reasonable, though less pleasant, to assume that if those in authority recognise the needs of the Imperial Yeomanry, 13presenting the Volun- teer Cavalry, they cannot be in ignorance of the approximately identical needs of the Volunteer Artillery, Engineers, and Infantry. In spite, therefore, of Mr. Balfour's protestations in the House that "those who say the Government have undervalued the , Volunteers wholly misunderstand the situation," what other reason can be assigned for paying the Yeoman recruit 2s. 9d. per drill for twelve preliminary squad drills and 5s. 6d. per diem during his annual camp training, while the Volunteer is paid nothing for either preliminary drills or camp, though both are now compulsory ? "H. F. P." calls attention to some of the difficulties of the infantry Volunteer; may I mention those of another branch of the Service,—the Volunteer Field Artillery ? Field Artillery is of necessity an expensive arm, but the cost of a Volunteer battery is infinitesimal by com- parison with that of a Royal Artillery battery, and it is, therefore, of the highest importance to the taxpayer that those Volunteer corps equipped with field guns should be properly trained and maintained. A six days' camp is in- adequate for both mounted work in the field and gun practice; but the Government grants are insufficient even for this, and it is now suggested in a recent Order by the Adjutant- General that the money would be found ample if a number of batteries joined together, taking horses for only one battery ! How it is supposed that the combined work of a brigade division of three or four batteries can be conducted with one lot of horses is not explained. There is an evident disposition at the War Office to starve these batteries out of existence and make the Field Artillery a close preserve of the Regular Army. Why, otherwise, do they refuse to replace their obsolete muzzle-loaders, discarded by the Royal Field Artillery some twenty years ago, with up-to-date field guns ? or why do they give them a horse allowance which works out at less than half what is considered suitable for Imperial Yeomanry? Again, if their preservation as Field Artillery is desired, why do they class these batteries in the Army List as Garrison Artillery ? and, above all, why has the Adjutant-General ordered that during the current year's training no greater mobility than that of infantry shall be required of them,— thus sacrificing their education (under Field Artillery instruc- tors) of the last ten years? Field Artillery must be able to perform all movements at "the trot," so as to take up successive positions in action with rapidity, Stc. There is but one explanation. The War Office clique does not sympathise with Volunteer aspirations. The Adjutant-General's order to Volunteer field batteries to " walk " instead of " trot " is merely preliminary to telling them that they have not the mobility necessary for Field Artillery; in fact, it is an invita- tion to them to commit suicide in order to provide a plausible raison d'etre for the addition to the number of field batteries of the Regular Army which is now being made. And this, I would suggest, is the key to the whole situation. There is no reason to believe that the large majority of the provincial Volunteer corps would refuse the same terms and conditions as those under which the Yeomanry serve, including the four- teen days' camp ; but it is ridiculous to expect the Volunteer to give his time and services for nothing, while the Yeoman is paid for his, and this must be as apparent to the Govern- ment as it is to the "man in the street." Is not then the conclusion irresistible that this starvation of the Volunteers is deliberately intended to reduce them in numbers and efficiency in order to justify the increase in the Regular forces under the army corps scheme ? May I express a hope that you will continue to urge tthe necessity of the Volunteers—Horse, Foot, and Artillery—being organised into a homogeneous army for home defence.—I am, Sir, Sze., H. K. S.
(1) The Volunteers should be organised in proper pro. portions of Cavalry (Imperial Yeomanry), Field, Heavy, and Garrison Artillery, Engineers and Infantry, with a Volunteer Army Service Corps and Medical Staff Cops, and completely equipped, so that if required for home defence (when probably the bulk of the Regular Army would be out of the country), they would be ready to act as an independent army. The plan of employ. ing Volunteers for Imperial oversea service is to be depre. ' cated, as denuding the force of its beat soldiers The Volunteers ought not to form part of an army corps or other organisation from which they would almost inevitably be separated on active service. s The Volunteers should have their own Staff, Brigadiers, and Divisional Generals, and a proportion at least of such commands should be allotted to Volunteer officers.
(2) The conditions of service for Volunteers should he approxi- mately the same in regard to drills, camp training, and pay as those laid down for Imperial Yeomanry. The Volun- teers will never be regarded seriously by the public till they are paid for actual military service. Gratuitous military service will always be looked upon as playing- at soldiers, and the discipline of an unpaid force can never be of a high order. Moreover, the Volunteers ought not to be expected to give their services and time for nothing while the Yeomanry, who are now recruited from the same- classes of the population, are paid for them.
[We have only been able to find space for two sections of our correspondent's interesting and thoughtful scheme. We cannot, however, agree with him that the War Office has deliberately tried to destroy the Volunteers—(we are, in- deed, absolutely certain that both Lord Roberts and Mr. Brodrick mean well by the Volunteers)—though we do not wonder that our correspondent, like the majority of Volun- teers, has been led by the way in which the Volunteers have been handled into believing that they are the objects of dislike and jealousy in Pall Mall. We should be by no means adverse to paying Volunteers while in camp, but we do not wish to make them the exact counterparts of the Yeomanry or Militia. We are also most anxious to keep as Volunteers the large number of men who, whether paid or not; cannot manage to get into camp.—En. Spectator.]
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