There was a very long and rather vague discussion on
the Army- on Tuesday night. It was introduced -by Lord Ekho, who.
advocates balloting for the Militia, and maintained that-we had not 31,000 infantry in the Islands or 70,000 anywhere, while we pay /13,000,000 a year for the Army. The usual con- tradictory opinions were expressed, but the truth .of the matter- seems to be that we have about that number of infantry, and that 30 per cent, of them are boys under twenty who- want filling out, but that we could obtain as many more on an emergency from the Militia Reserve ; and that the Army- Reserve will gradually supply the want. The infantry, more- over, are so distributed that we have many cadres at home (seventy), and could in time of war fill them up with
some ease. The general impression left by the debate, and especially by Mr. Hardy's very feeble speech, is that we have very little to show for our money, that Govern- ment knows it, that it is unable to make changes which would save much, and that it is afraid to ask Parliament for the extra men and wages needed. We shall some day pay for all that want of nerve, if not in defeat, at least in humiliation. Mr. _Hardy says our Fleet is equivalent to 300,000 men, and that may be true for home defence, but suppose we have to go to Belgium?
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