At the Oxford Union on Thursday evening Lord Roberta delivered
a very interesting address on the defence of the North-West Frontier of India. After pointing out that a Navy alone could never bring a war against an enemy possess- ing a land frontier to a satisfactory conclusion, be argued that India was in the position of a Continental nation, which mast be defended by Continental methods. India, would be true to Britain only so long as Britain was both willing and able to defend her. The Japanese Alliance in no way relieved them of this responsibility, and it would be a fatal blow to British prestige if India ever regarded her defence as dependent upon the strength of Japan. In case of a war with Russia, we should be able to put in the field a force not inferior to thp invaders ; but under our present system we could not hope to mobilise for the purpose more than three hundred thousand men. Where, Lord Roberts asked, were the remaining four hundred thousand to come from P Not by conscription certainly, but by the adoption of a system of universal training, beginning at school and carried on when maturity was reached. After speaking cordially of the work of the Volunteers in the Boer War, he appealed to his hearers, as young men on the threshold of life, to realise their duty to their country, and to think less of their rights and more of their duties. We trust that Lord Roberts's most wise and moderate counsels will have the effect they deserve.
Bank Rate, 4 per cent.
Consols (2-1- per cent.) were on Friday 884.
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