The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-04-06 00:00:00

,s.tou*ibst 04serint.

SATURDAY, APRIL 0, 1872.

THE VOLUNTEER REVIEW.

A standing army is a standing evil—a neces-
sary evil it may be, but still an evil. The great
body of the regular army iu such a nation as
ours is necessarily composed of men drawn from
the lower ranks, and, shirk the fact as we may,
the neighbourhood of barracks and depots is
certaiuly not particularly desir..ble. A standing
army also is a metter of enormous cost; when it
is unemployed we feel this bunion heavily ; and
, when it is employed in war wo cannot but feel
I that the occupation is a horrid one. But the
! evil, we repeat, is a necessary one, and we are
not among those who begrudge a fair outlay to
place and to keep the country in a proper state
of defence. Very few, if any, of the evils that
attach themselves to a standing army can be said
to affet a Volunteer force. The two arms of the
military service are essentially different, but
I each occupies an important place. The Regu-
lars are, unfortunately, absolutely necessary;
they form it vast military machine always under
control and always disposable for offensive or
defensive warfare. The Volunteers, as their
name implies, freely offer their services without
pay or reward, beyond the consciousness of ser-
ving their country. Having done they are of
course under control, but not alwaya at com-
mand, for they may at any time individually re-
sign • and, in accordance with their motto—
"defence not defiance "—they can only be relied
on for defensive purposes. It becomes import-
ant, therefore, that on the one hand they should
be fairly and considerately treated by the Go-
verunient of the day, and on the other that they
should readily submit themselves to all regula-
tions that may tend to develope their efficiency
without weakening the grand principle of volun-
tary devotion to the defence of the country.
The patriotism, the readiness to submit to all
fair conditions of service, the self-denial, and
the zeal of our Volunteers are above suspicion ;
but the majority of the men themselves will
readily admit that they have yet touch to learn
!in training and discipline. The couutry feels
that so far as good-will is concerned it can rely
on the Volunteers, should their defensive servi-
ces be ever required, but it is also felt that these
services should be as valuable as military in-
struction, drill, and discipline can make them.
Towards this end the annual Volunteer Review
has done much, but the Franco-Prussian war
and our own Autumn manceuvres have taught
the Army, the Volunteers, and the Country,
that these annual reviews should do more to-
wards the attainment ol this end than has hith-
erto been achieved.
Looking on the Easter Monday Review in this
light, it must be regarded as eminently satisfac-
tory, and as a great advance on previous reviews.
On this occasion it was not a mere holiday spec-
tacle, but the occasion of hard work, energetic
devotion to military duties, and practical appli-
cation of the science of warfare. It was not
holiday weather, and our Volunteers at an early
period of the day had already undergone no little
fatigue, but with a long day of hard work before
them they addressed themselves to their self-
apsed task with hearty enthusiasm. The mili-
tary operations were of a higher class and of
more importance in a strategic sense than those
on my preceding Easter Monday, and our citi-
zen soldiers went through them with the highest
credit to themselves, and assuredly we may add,
to the general satisfaction of their commanders.
We need not here (torment on these Spriug
manceuvres, which are amply described else-
where. But we belive that military critics may
be appealed to, and certainly civilian critics may
be, and asked whether the entire operations of
the day do not deservedly raise the reputation of
our Volunteers. In criticising the mimic battle,
it must be borne in mind that the main body of
the men engaged in it are engaged in trade and
commerce, in the arts and industries of ordinary
life, and that they have had but little traiuiiig
in even the semblance of warfare. And yet
they displayed a devotion to, and self-denial in
their task, which are worthy of the highest
praise, and what is of greater importance, an
adaptability to severe discipline which gives
high promise of the value of their services
should they ever be unhappily called for in the
real work of defensive warfare. This Easter
Monday, we believe, will mark the commence-
ment of a new era in their annals, and secure
for them the increased appreciation of their
countrymen.