The Bill in principle has our warmest sympathy. We desire
to make one or two criticisms, however. We think it would be much better not to spread the recruit's training over two years, but to have one training of seventy-eight days, or say three months. Again, we think that the period of liability to serve in the Territorial Force—i.e., eleven years in all—is much too long. It would be much better to make the period five years, with a fortnight's training every year. On leave obtained, however, we would allow any man who had completed his recruit's training to skip a year, provided that he made up that training later. We believe that the plan of getting over the recruit training in one instal- ment would suit both employers and employed very much better than the plan proposed under the Bill With the clause that all officers must serve their recruit' training in the ranks we are in the heartiest agree- ment, Though service in the ranks is not appropriate to officers in the Regular Army, who require a long and specially technical training, it is, in our opinion, most appro- priate in a citizen Army such as that contemplated under the Bill.
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