LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
LORD ROBERTS'S WARNING.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOB:1 SIR,—The warning solemnly given to the nation by the great Field-Marshal is surely a very serious and impressive thing. No one can say and no one attempts to argue that our present defensive arrangements are sufficient either to avert war or to ensure victory. There are differences of opinion amongst us, but they are differences of detail, not of principle, and we all in our hearts agree with Lord Roberts that we are not as strong as we might be and as we ought to be. Nevertheless the ship of State drifts on like the ill-fated Titanic,' and custom, routine, and preoccupation with things of secondary importance prevent adequate precautions being taken. The real cause of this inaction, of course, is the paralysis caused by the two political parties, which, balancing each other, prevent all progress. In these circumstances I venture to appeal, through the medium of your influential columns, to the leaders on both sides, and to all men of patriotism and common sense in both political parties to unite for the common safety and combine to pass by consent an Act for the military training of British youth. It is surely nothing less than a scandal that a great nation should deliberately stultify itself in the all-important matter of defence because it happens to take a keen interest in its own domestic politics. If the Bill for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic was passed by the consent of both political parties, why should not an Act for military training be passed in the same way P—I am, Sir, &a.,
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