THE HIGH SHERIFF OF SURREY AND RECRUITING. T HE following letter

has been addressed by the High Sheriff of Surrey to all newspapers published in the county :— SIE,—General Atlye, the General Officer in charge of administration in the Eastern Command, who is responsible for the recruiting arrangements in Surrey, has asked me, as High Sheriff, to appeal to the principal organs of the Press in the county to give him the benefit of their assistance, first by urging the manhood of the county to join the Army, and secondly by keeping standing in their columns a complete list of recruiting offices within the county boundaries, a list which I append to this letter.

I have no hesitation in addressing this appeal to the Surrey newspapers, for I know well that they can one and all be relied upon to do their very utmost in anything that concerns the national welfare. It was to them that the success of the National Reserve in Surrey was largely due, and so in a sense the success of the National Reserve throughout the kingdom, a success which has borne such splendid fruit in the course of the last few days, and has added the equivalent of two army corps— composed of some of the finest military material in the world—to the nation's forces.

You, Sir, will, I know, continue the appeals already so ably made by you to the manhood of the county, but I trust you will also permit me through your columns to speak to the men of the county directly. The King's Commission to me as Sheriff requires me—I quote the actual words- " to take the custody and charge of the said county, and duly to perform the duties of Sheriff thereof during his Majesty's pleasure, whereof you are duly to answer according to the law." One of those duties as laid down in the text-books of the law is to call upon all men of the county of military age to repel the King's enemies. To that duty I now address myself.

I call upon every Surrey man between the ages of nineteen and thirty-five, and every man with military training up to the age of forty-five, to come forward in the hour of national peril for the service and defence of his country.

Further, I call upon all those who are either under military age or over military age, and also upon all the women of the county, to do their utmost to help in securing the men required.

What is it for which we pray to God every night and every morning ? We pray for the shortening of the war. But there is only one way now to shorten the war and to bring us peace. That is to make adequate military pre- parations, and to raise an additional Army of at the very least half a million men, and in the shortest possible time.

If we do not shorten the war, but let it drag on, miseries untold must fall upon us all, but especially upon the working classes. Remember, as we found a hundred years ago, that our Navy, splendid as is its spirit, glorious as are its achievements, and able as it is for the moment to protect our lives and our towns and villages from the awful fate that has overwhelmed the towns and villages of Belgium and of France, cannot end the war. Only a military force can do that. Therefore it is to the interests of every one of us that the men of military age, the men declared capable of forming a field army, should come forward, and at once.

These are grounds by themselves more than sufficient to warrant the appeal made by the Government. But there are other reasons which weigh even more with me, and I believe, when they are understood, will weigh more with the manhood of Surrey. During the past ten days our Army in France has fought with a determination, a valour, a heroism, which have never been surpassed even in our military records. Our soldiers did nobly at Agincourt, at Crecy, at Blenheim, at Waterloo, and in all the battles of the Peninsula, but they never did better than, perhaps never as well as, in the last few days in the fields of French Flanders. Every man with a spark of feeling must want to help the men who have helped us, must want to show what we feel for those who have fought and died in our cause. Think what they will feel if in gratitude the nation springs to arms at their call. But think again what they must feel—I dare not dwell upon it —if they have to bear the dreadful humiliation of learning that the nation heard. of their heroism with apathy and in- dzference and did not awaken to the call, " Come over and kelp us." We must be wood and stone if we refuse to answer such a summons.

The Government announcements and proclamations set forth the terms upon which men may enlist for the period of the war. Here I will only say that men may feel certain that, if the separation allowances are not enough for their wives and families, they will be liberally supplemented by their Tillages, their towns, and by the country as a whole. There is plenty of money already subscribed for that purpose, and there are plenty of people determined that those to get the first relief, and the most liberal relief, in distress shall be the wives and families of the soldiers, and not those who, though they could have gone to the front, stayed selfishly behind. There are also plenty of people who are determined that when the men come back from the war they shall find their old jobs still open for them, and who will never forgive or forget the crime—it will be no less—of any employer who could reinstate his men, but dared to betray his trust by refusing to do so. But, indeed, there is little fear of any man wanting to perpetrate, or attempt- ing to perpetrate, so dastardly an act. He would have to face the scorn and anger of the whole realm. He would be a marked man.

Lastly, a word to the young men of wealth, education, birth, and position who might in ordinary times have expected commissions. If they have no special military training and qualifications, they must not think of holding back till they can get a post of leadership. They can lead in enlisting. No man is too good to serve his country in the ranks. If they desire to do their duly, as I know they do, they must do it simply and plainly by enlisting in Lord Kitchener's new Army.

I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, J. ST. Lou STRACHEY, High Sheriff of Surrey.

He who means to serve his country will serve it doubly by serving it quickly. Don't wait and think and talk about doing so later. Present yourself at once to the Recruiting Officer at the recruiting office which you will see from the list below is nearest to you, or else at Ones fill in this coupon and send it by post to the nearest Recruiting Office addressed to the Recruiting Officer. He will communicate with you without delay.

COUPON.

I undertake to enlist for the term of the War. I am over 19 years of age.

Name Address

List of Recruiting Offices within the County.

To the EDITOR.

WEST SURREY.

Guildford Headquarters, Stoughton Barracks Guildford Borough Hall Godalming Armoury Haslemere Drill Hall Woking Drill Hall Farnham Town Hall Camberley Drill Hall Addlestone Duke's Head Lingfield Drill Hall Dorking Drill Hall Redhill Market Hall Reigate Drill Hall Harley, Messrs. Baker at Baker aodstone Drill Hall Caterham Drill Hall Croydon Barracks, Mitcham Road Cranleigh Ewhurst West Byffeet EAST SURREY.

Kingston-on-Thames, The Barracks Kingston-on-Thames, The Town

Hall (5 to 8 each Evening) Richmond, 24 Hill Street Mortlake, Council House, High Street (7 to 9 each Evening) Putney, 6 Beamish Road Wandsworth, 467 York Road East Dulwich, 186 Lordship Lane Tooting, 157 High Street Merton, Council Chambers Mitcham, Vestry Hall Wimbledon, The Theatre Sutton, Drill Hall

Epsom, 3 Hook Road Epsom, Council Chambers Leatherhead, Municipal Buildings Weybridge, Constitutional Club Chertsey, Town Hall Egham, Literary Institute