The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-02-24 00:00:00

tit St•toartrity quern.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1872.

_THE VOLUNTEERS. •

To estimate the amount of good service that
the Volunteers have renderad their country
would be a very difficult, if not an impossible
task. Happily, the:, oa I never had occasion to
put into actual practice their motto," Defence,
not defiance," but they have roused and main-
tained a healthy public spirit in defence of their
country ; they have given up valuable time, and,
on the wholo, willingly suffered 'pecuniary loss
In making themselves as far as possible an effi-
cient defensive force ; and they may have exer-
cised, for ought we know to the contrary, on
continental natione, a powerful influence in
favour of peace. Bnsides this they have de-
veloped and strengthened the wholesome prin.
inple of maintaining as small a standing army
may be consistent with safety, and relying, as
much aa we fairly can upon a purely volunteer
sad iidensive force. The army estimates, just
issued, incidentally show this. They amount to
£14,824,500. the net decrease, as compered with
bet year, being'.£l,o27,ooo- For the volunteers'
thaw is • pectiniiry decrease of £12,450, but on
the volunteer force there is actually a mumerical
lacesese. True, the artillery volunteers are re-
dwood hem 34,000 to 88,000, but the light horse,
engineers, and rifle volunteers are increased
=141116 to 159,000, while there is to be an
•of nearly 4,000,ht the extra.efiloients ;
altogether a numerieal inane'e of nearly 8,000
being thus Provided for.
Considering such facts as these, the Volan-
teen have some reason to feel annoyed at the
slighting way in which they have been treated
and spoken of by the Secretary of State for War
and by the Commander-ia-Chief in relation to
past and future reviews on the Volunteers an-
neal field-day, Easter Monday. Neither of these
great men is favourable to a repetition of the an-
nual review on the conditions of former years,
and the sacrifices which the Volunteers have
made and the terribly hard work they have
undergone on such ocoasions do not, in our
*nion. receive adequate acknowledgement from
the powers that be. The Duke of Cambridge,
h Is Mae, says that the Easter Monday reviews
have given proof of the zeal and energy of the
Volunteers, but then he somewhat ungraciously
adds that the Easter Monday review "has not
been calculated to improve their acquaintance
with military exercises, and has had no tendency
to produce military efficiency." Similar opinions
to the have frequently been expressed by his
Royal Highness and many of the officers in the
regular army, and a corresponeence on the sub-
join having ensued, the Volunteers through their
officers, have display,l an amount of modesty
sad of eed•denial as well as an earnest desire
for the attainment of efficiency that do them in-
Amite credit. To the proposition of the Com-
mander-in-Chief the Volunteers have Oven ready
assent, and their officers have agreed that the
Volunteer force on Easter Monday shall be placed
entirely under brigaders and staff officers of the
regular army, accustomed to the manoeuvring of
troops on an extensive scale.
We repeat that the Volunteers in cheerfully
accepting this proposal have displayed a com-
mendable spirit; and we are quite willing to al-
low that Field-Marshal the Duke of Cambridge
. . .

and the °dicers of the regular army who thiuk
with him may be actuated by a sincere desire to
improve the military character of the Volanteer
foree; but it is just possible that they may go
too far in this direction. The peaceful victory
sow gained over tho Volunteers by the repre-
aeatatives of the regulars, may perhaps be but
the small sad of the wedge, for undoubtedly
there is • strong desire in influential quarters to
bring the Volunteers more and more under strict
military discipline, and simultaneously to lower
their tone as a puerly volunteer defensive and
reserve force. The development of such a
policy must be very carefully and jealously
watched. A large defensive force we must have,
and the country is not yet prepared for having
this force entirely, or even mainly, of a volun-
teer character ; but on the othea hand the Vo-
lunteers must ha very careful of anything that
may lead to their being treated as mere soldiers,
instead of citizen soldiers. The Volunteersheve
not yet, we believe, had full justice done to tin m.
It has been the fashion for " the regu!ars to
carp at sod criticiAe them, to underrate their
devotion to the s,•rvice, and to overreo any er-
rors into which they tu.iy have fallen. Rut tse
good of the country i 4 not thus served ; and uvo
venture to sugueat to It. R. IL the Cu: iiiii auder-
in Chief sod hi, friends tlist the snubbi.,a of tlie
Volunt,ieri may be carried to a dangerous ex-
tent.