[To TIM EDITOR OF Tall 'SPECTATOR"]
LORD CURZON'S OPPORTUNITY.
SIR,—Perhaps you will permit me to reply to the letter of "M. B." in last week's issue. One marvels at the peculiar condition of mind which obtains with so many Conservatives Does "M. B." really believe that any Englishman, no matter what his polities may be, is anything but passionately proud and jealous of the prestige and honour of his country ? Is he, indeed, so hide-bound with party prejudice as to bring himself seriously to regard the accession to office of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and Mr. Lloyd-George as a national misfortune ? How can a presumably intelligent man be so dull? Let me, without any desire to be egotistical, give "M. B." an illustration as to how we Liberals regard our duty to the Empire. I was one of those who considered the South African War a grave error of judgment, and utterly distrusted the policy which dictated it, and the means by which it was engineered. Inlay add that nothing I have seen or heard since has in any way led me to alter my opinion. Yet, in common with hundreds of others of the same political creed, I would have supported no man who did not declare his determination to carry that war through, once begun, to a successful issue. I did more, also, in common with thousands of the Liberal faith : I enlisted at once in the Army for active service. That I never reached the front was due to a bad accident which nearly cost me my life, and from the effects of which I was invalided out of the Service. I think I may claim, however, that, as a "Little Englander," I at all events tried to do as much as the loudest-voiced Jingo of the party to which "M. B." belongs. It sickens one with politics to listen to the miserable cant (amounting to a reflection upon the national honour) anent "Little Englanders," "Pro-Boers," and the like. Does "M. B." regard the present Cabinet as the apotheosis of administrative talent, efficiency, or even intellectual calibre? Heaven help the Empire, if so ! It is, and will remain, a scratch Administration of quite indifferent talent, until Providence, or the Septennial Act, puts a happy period to the self-glorious inefficiency of its career. The Empire's "honour" is in safe keeping with any Government that may be formed from any party, for the very sufficient reason that we still have a sufficient modicum of common- sense to go round, and that the Empire would make extremely short 'work of any Administration that imperilled its true interests or impaired its dignity or power in any way whatsoever. Little Englandism is contemptible "tommy-rot," and the leading states- men and great bulk of the rank-and-file of either party are absolutely free from it.
May I crave a slight addition to the space I have already unduly occupied, to write a word or two in support of " Hippo- damos's " most interesting letter. As one who has seen the question from Tommy's point of view, having served in the ranks, I have no hesitation in saying that thirty per cent, of the men enlist for the uniform alone. During the short time I was in the Service I made it my business to inquire of as many men as I could the various reasons which impelled them to join the Army. In nearly every case I had the same answer returned to me "The uniform," and with it the glamour of military pomp and circumstance. Take away the smart or distinctive uniform of each regiment, and blend them into one monotonous drab colour, and I positively affirm that the greatest attractive force to the Service will cease to exist, and you may whistle for recruits till you are hoarse. It is the bait that attracts the fish and the hook that holds them. Once in the Service, a great pro- portion of the men (after the first rude awakening, and con- sequent disillusionment) learn to like it for itself; others, an inconsiderable minority, do not, and they desert, or "work their ticket" in more or less discreditable ways. Moreover' soldiers' sons nearly always follow in their fathers' steps ; which seems to me a very significant lead to the authorities as to one way in which to promote recruiting for the Service. Again, what " Hippodamos" says about the soldiers' walking-out kit, or, as they term it, "square-pushing" dress, is equally true. I can con- firm it in every particular from personal experience. Tommy will have everything of the best. No Government issue is good enough for him. " Supertines " he must and will have, to say nothing of "mashing lines," silver-plated shoulder chains, " tinklers " (spurs), "pill-box" forage caps, and such like vanities dear to his martial soul. All these, it is scarcely necessary to say, are contraband of war and liable to confiscation, but are generally, and as I think wisely, winked at by the authorities within certain perfectly understood limits. • I, Sir, from even my short experience of the Service in the ranks of a crack cavalry corps, could tell you a few things about the inner life thereof that would make you and your readers stare. But I notice that the columns of the Press are open to every one with theories, and closed to those who have actual practical experience from the only point of view which is worth a cent,—of life in the ranks itself, which is the chief reason why I do not expect to see this letter in print. Let me say, in con- clusion, that I left the Service with regret, and, also with the firm conviction that as a physical training it has no superior. But we shall never make the Army popular until it is taken in hand by those who know where the shoe pinches, and how to apply the relief. I have seen so far only one suggestion, in my opinion, of any real value, and that is that the soldier's rate of pay should be raised to 30s. a week, and that he should "find himself" out of that sum.
am, Sir, &c., EX-LAZI C ER.
[SO far from not wishing to publish " Ex-Lancer's " letter, we think it a very striking and valuable contribution. It is unnecessary to say that we agree with the first part of it, for we have again and again expressed similar views, and even at the height of the war protested against describing men as devoid of patriotism because they did not concur with our views as to the righteousness of the war,—views, however, which we have never seen the slightest reason to regret. As to the uniform, if the private had paid into his hand what he now costs the State, and "found himself," as does the sailor, in practice, we should hear little more of the recruiting difficulty.—En. Spectator.]
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