Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-10-17
British Military Power.

A""SAs
While the British army comes in for
large share of the compliments in the
Queens speech, It does not follow that
the nation is satisfied with its military
system. The campaign in Afghanistan
was ably planned and brilliantly exc
cuted, but the transfer of the Sepoys
from India to Malta was merely q
flourish of trumpets, and the slowness
with which troops can be sent into the
field and the military resources OF the
Empire brought to bear in an emergency
has been demonstrated by the operations
in South Africa. The staff, moreover,
has always plumed itself upon its tacti-
cal knowledge and accuracy OF judg
ment, but in the premature invasion Of
Zululand, ami the surprises and dis
asters which followed, great lack of
professional proficiency was manifested
at headquarters. While defects like
these have been laid bare by military
critics, the attention Of the Houses Of
Parliament has been directed to the
unsatisfactory condition of the rank
and file. Toward the close of the ses-
sion remarkable speech was made, in
which the inefliciency of the army was
attributed to the substitution of short
service without pensions for long SER
vice with pensions. Lord Strathnairn
contrasted the two systems, and ad-
vocated return to the military es.
tablishment of Pitt and Wellington,
tho groundwork Of which was long ser
vice with liberal pensions to veterans.
He contended that system whereby a
man after serving for six years with the
colors was turned over to the reserve
with paltry sixpence day had
checked recruiting and tended to dis
organize the army. These structures
have been Analysed by nearly all the
public journals, and it is admitted by
many of them that England requires a
stronger army than she now has. The
zeal of,7Ae Telegraph, of course, over
leaps itself. 1t cries out hoarsely that
return to the age of Pitt and Yelling
ton is impossible unless the House of
Commons consents to spend few more
millions on the Army, and that the
principle which breeds reserve must
be maintained in full activity, or Eng
land will lag behind the age and be-
come third rate Power.
What term of service can be made
most effective is an open question. In
France, President Theirs favored an
enlistment for seven years in the actual
Army, and the maintenance of COM
paratively small forces of highly dis
ciplined troops. General Trochu, on
the other hand, was anxious to reduce
10 IS ca,r,;on ~ 1>y,x
insisted that it should be made COM
pulsory. In the end, the principle OF
universal liability to arms was accepted
and service under the colors was re.
stricted to five years. The idea of arm
ing the whole nation and rendering
military training compulsory has never
taken root on English soil, and, con
sequently, the period of service must
be based upon voluntary enlistments'
Under this system, the British Army
is out.numbered by the hosts which
are kept under arms by the Great Pow
ers of the Continent. During the
Spring OF 1878 Sir Garnet Wolseley es
timated that, exclusive of volunteers
militia and the second class reserve
there were 133, 900 trained soldiers in
| Tue DrlJlSu 1SlauuS dValiaU1o 1or u
campaign and although the troops
could i'll be spared for foreign service,
the combined European and native
armies in India numbered 100. 900 men
These figures look small when COM
pared with tho footings Of the Cont.
mental military budgets. Italy, for ex-
ample, keeps 10000 men constantly
under arms. with SO, 900 more in course
of training, and can put 100000 on a
war footing France has 704, 1000 men
in the active army, $4,000 in the re-
serve, and 1,2O0,O0 in the territorial
army and reserve and Germany, with
400, 900 in active service and 500, 900
enrolled in the reserve, can depend
upon 100000 soldiers who have
learned the rudiments of war. Among
camps like these the nation of bankers
and traders, which has lately taken so
conspicuous stand in European affairs,
seems almost unarmed.-N. Y. Tribune.