VOLUNTEERS!
Tim shock of war on the continent has again raised the cry of " Volunteers ! In January last we laid before our readers a suggestion for the formation of corps of volunteers,* describing them as the essential elements of our national defences on shore. Now, we read powerful leaders and spirited letters in the Times, crying aloud for the organization of such a force. " The Horn of Chase " proposes a really formidable band of hunting men, clothed in the strong and simple costume of the hunting field, and armed with sabre and revolver ; and hunting men, as befits them, cheerily respond. Mr. E. S. Cayley suggests " rifle clubs in each parish or township," the riflemen to be taught the use of their weapon, and the best shots to be rewarded with a badge of honour. As he and others correctly observe, our enclosures of all kinds would prove to be natural fortifications, exactly suited to the genius of our people. But we cannot agree with him that our mounted volunteers should be armed with rifles. The horseman should keep the horseman's weapons, the sabre and the pistol. The footman should retain the footman's weapon—the rifle and the bayonet. With these we could win. But there is no need, at this stage of the question, to go into detail. The great points to be borne in mind are, first, that Eng- land should be placed and maintained in a position that will ren- der invasion impossible ; secondly, that this can only be done by arming and training the elite of the population ; thirdly, that the Volunteers so raised should become an institution, the rifle butts taking the places of the archery butts of old time. Our Volun- teers must not spring up like mushrooms in moments of panic and alarm. They must be always there. Service in a volunteer corps must be recognized as one of the duties which all yews., men, not physically incapable, must perform. But there must be no pipe-clay, no red-tape, no rigid " regulations." Arms, cloth- ing, drill, all must be alike simple and good ; and what rules we have must be rules to enable the Volunteers to take their ordinary drill and practice when they can. Neither must they be allowed to become playthings. Every battalion must be made as good as it will ever be possible to make a battalion not composed of regu- lar soldiers.
There is a stir about raising volunteers now. How long will it continue ? The nation cannot move in the matter. It is bound hand and foot by Castlereagh's Drilling Act. The Govern- ment of England is responsible for the safety of England. Upon those who compose it, whoever they may be, Tories or Whigs, will fall the penalty, if we are ever assailed, while we are, as now, unprepared. It is, therefore, for them, for the responsible advisers of the Crown to give the impulse. It is for Queen Vic- toria herself, speaking through her Ministers, to call her people to arms, and for Parliament to sanction the very little expense that need be incurred. The nation is ready, although at this moment no foe actually with visible front, menaces our shore. But no one can tell how soon a foe might try to make a sudden swoop upon the country. The thing,. all dread, is posssible ; we ought to make it impossible. Now is the time to do it. Now is the time to lay the strong foundations of a defensive military Spectator, Jan. 22. " Elements of National Defence."
system, and to impart martial habits to our people, \which . will be our protection, and which will command the gratlitude of posterity.
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