On Tuesday a very interesting debate took place in the
House of Lords on the condition of the Army. Lord Roberts urged very strongly the danger of letting the country believe that the Territorial Force was all that was needed for its safety. The public seemed to imagine that if they only had patience and gave the force sufficient time to perfect itself we should have for home defence a force to which the safety of these islands could be entrusted. The matter could not be left in doubt. Even supposing that their arms were all that the Secretary for War claimed for them, the Territorials would be of no military value unless the men were trained to use them in an effective manner. The crux of the whole question was to reach some satisfactory conclusion as to how thousands of men of the Territorial Force could get sufficient training to make them a valuable asset to the defence of the country. Lord Roberts then read an extract from a letter from an important firm of manufacturers, addressed to the National Service League. The firm urged the great difficulties in the way of allowing the training of their men, but they added : " When service is compulsory we shall be on equal terms with everybody else and willing to bear the increased burden." We need hardly say that with Lord Roberts's powerful argument for universal service we are thoroughly in accord.
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