On Wednesday Mr. St. John Brodrick spoke at Bramley, in
Surrey, on Army Reform. We are glad to note that he laid great stress upon the absolute necessity for military reorganisation and War Office reform, and warned his hearers that we should have to struggle against the apathy in regard to military affairs which will result from the reaction that is sure to follow the present excite- ment. That is a most useful warning, and we trust will be taken to heart, not only by the people, but by their leaders, for they are quite as likely to be affected by the reaction as the rest of the country. Mr. Brodrick ended his speech by showing that Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman had no right to throw stones at the present Ministry in regard to a failure to make proper provision for war. That is, of course, absolutely true, and it is also true that the present Govern- ment did do something to repair the evils caused by the slackness of their predecessors. Unfortunately, however, they did not do enough, and to do less than enough in such a case was to become particeps crintinis with the late Govern- ment. When Lord Lansdowne entered office the Army was in a bad state and he knew it. He had three years in which to put matters right, and he did not put them right, and therefore be stands condemned as having failed in a public duty. It is idle to say that his colleagues would not support him when he asked them to make sacrifices for the Army. It was always open to him to resign, and resignation under such circumstances would have been a most beneficial act,—it would have rallied the whole country to the cause of Army Reform.
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