, 1877-07-08
ENGLAND.

ENGLAND.
The military Resources ut Her Command
Regular Troops, Militia, and Volunteers |
-untratned d Recrults-Difttculty, Confusion, |
and Delay.
London standard, June Is.
Tt is our hope and belief that there is no pres
ent probability Of our being drawn into war On
the Eastern question; but it is admitted that
our interests may, sooner or later, be threat
cned to such an cxten that We shall be conf
pclled in selt4lcfcusc to draw the sword. Un-
der these circumstances every thoughtiul En-
elishman must wish to know What arc our MILL
tary resources, the number ofmen whom We could
nlacc in the field, and the time which would
c1anse between the resolution to strike and tho
h1nw. in paper VIC possess IN army which, Tor
- p"xcr which relies mainly on her navy, Is OF
70 rontem ptible strength. In the United
Kingdom there are about oooresl3r ;r;a, tTo9ps;
1S1 1'1,s"teers' @ % and zoo frstcass and 900
onI-class army reserve, making grand total
If about 4H,0oo men. or these the active
army about 80, QUO men OF the militia rcscrrc:
nah,c nnh To- serve out Of the country, though her
MAJESTY NAV accept the offer OF militia corps to
do garrison duty in the Mediterranean. un-
Fortunately, however. there ts the widest posi-
h1c difference between an actual army and ono
s IT, te effective humber OF the British army
vas vas 99,99l. We may assume. therefore,
that at the present h,dt aomGnf qGn Inn tne re1, en-
fectve strength is for p0oas fsntng n,,rposes
dnduct on account OF miscellaneous depart
mrnts. and officers Of staff and departments re-
auired at home, about 1,55o Of all RANKS. It is
reasonable to o. deaci 11r men anG n r
another $500. This reduces the effective fight
in~ strength Of the regular army to about
95sooo Of ali ranks. Then there arc
nnsS ansasar Fss1us 5S but tbe rs
rato a.cuunt OF those who, though technically
| trainrd and effective, are too young to undergo
the hardships and fatisucs OF ;anpalgh. We
have high authority for stating thar Of the men
reccntly raised no more than ono out Of three
is 1t for work Till alter an average service OF
ci~htcen mouths. We cannot, therefore, set
down the number Of g o men a. seryin ae%er
in the regular army can be considered lit to take
the field: The first-class army reserve is esti-
mated at 14,00O men, but it is no.
torious that wc cannot oxa at +hnn Inc N ses no.
20 that the number Of trained fighting men zen
ayailablc at moments notice Ii only S5,Wo
men. From the militia reserve NC could obtain
perhaps, 25,oH men, put these arG - onay a,nd nati
! IN for the opening Of campaign. we maF
consider. however, that England possesses y
sufficient number OF men to ea5!c 65 ~ Us 10 senu
to the East two corps d'armee o1 ", men eacn'
and to leave behind q very tolcraplc feser!c,
for in fen months the militia ressrVe "ou1o
have completed their military education. ,.
So fur, this is satisfactory; out whcn We CONE
; to consider the means winch the author'tleS :,
would be compelled to ADOPT 10 eomptete anu aa,1
prepare the two corps d'arn1ee IN question, our
admiration Of the military system o1 thls coun.
try disappears. We have, IN txct, . so1nc1e1l
number Of mel, for our purposes, ana an amp M
supply of cadres, but the expanding ol these
cadrcs would cause much dlthculty' CONFUSION,
; and delay. Two corps consist OF 1orty-twe
battalions OF infantry and twelve req
; mcnts Of cayalry, besides artillery, en-
; ! gneers, etc. At the present momen,
, there are Is battalons, each 953 strong. anu = u
with strength OF G53. Ihe war stfcnSta o.
. battalion is LOOT Of all ranks From eacn SCI
I oi figures large deductions would, as VIC ehow
$ cd ab oyc, have to be made; but even "!thou1
= these deductions 1t would be neccssaE! 10 aat
c l;4 officers ami men to each OF the u ftro!t
J. battallons. We say 2i weak 1attano1ls
$ because the Guards couia easa'
out of their seven battallons inr
nisll three OF full strength for campaign Ea
Thus, emitting all dcductons for sick. absent
r | in prison, inyaild6 recruits. aud immature hcn