The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-05-22
THE BRITISH ARMY.

L. Numerical Strength and Relative
Weakness in Peace and War
The total expenditure on the army,
out of taxes, IN the year IN the ease OF
the United Kingdom was last year,
according to Sir Charles Dixie, SIC, $780,
600, saws the London Saturday Review,
and in India the same or &33, 900, 600
(e34, OO0 600 in the present year,, besides
the expenditure out of loans and that OF
the self-governing colonies for the
armies of the British empire. The col
onies altogether spend for themselves
about e1,5OO.O0 . year for army pur-
poses, in addition to the contributions
made by some of them toward the i'm
pcrial forces and toward marine de-
fense. While the armies Of the British
empire cost about E35, 50O,O0O a year,
the German empire costs about s33, 500.
600 and the French army little over
E2S, 600. 900.
Our armies cost rs, therefore, consid-
erably more than theirs, but while each
Of these powers would have in the field
on the twenty-first day of mobilization
over 1000, 900 of men, with between
5000 and 4, 900 guns, and behind this
vast force a large garrison and terri
torial army in reserve. we could alto
gether muster but $4,000 men from all
the resources at our command. But the
ingenious Briton viii retort that,
though our forces are small, they are OF
exceptional quality; that one English
man is equal to two Frenchmen; that
one volunteer Is as good As two pressed
men. and so on-und so weiter, etc.
Not so.
The =. 600, 900 active German or French
troops, of whom we have just spoken,
| are pretty much the same allthrOugh'
that is TO say, they are of uniform
quality, even ii it be granted that their
standard be not as high as ours. Our
mustcr-roll, on the contrary, is built up
from the most heterogeneous sources,
and the quality, when the training and
| education OF the soldier are considered,
| if in some cases high. IS in others de-
| plOrable. The total we arrive at Is
made up of 10000 troops, excellent
though deficient in some particulars;
$4,000 to 81, 600 frSt-clasS army reserve,
! useful but not periodically drilled as r
! the reserve OF every continental army;
| 2.OOO second-claSS army reserve, hardly
worth counting; $4,000 militia, who
NAV be said to be without half their
officers: 5000 Channel island militia;
about 900 Malta and st. Helena militia;
Il. 900 yeomanry; 224. 600 volunteers; a.
600 regulars in India Undoubtedly 4
splendid force), IS, 600 good native
troops in India; 81, 900 bad native troops,
and 2I.OOO of what Sir Charles Dixie
terms odds and ends"
In other words, the figures we can
produce include everything we can pos
sibly term a soldier, from a guardsman
to Il native policeman. They include
some regiments of Indian infantry
which are recognized even 10y ourselves
as worthless, and whom we from time
to time disband as such. They include
the St. Helena militia and the poyal
Irish consta bulary, who, however etii-
cient in their own sphere, would proba-
bly, he so occupied in it that they can
hardly be available TO fight foreigner.
But more than this, not only is our
force thus variable and sometimes I'M
satisfactory as regards the quality of
its component parts, but IL is singularly
badly proportional as regards the arms
of which it is composed.
If there is one thing which recent ex-
periments have established more than
another. and upon which there is com
plete unaninity OF opinion among mill
taT-y men. ii II this-that modern armies
should in future campaigns be remark
ably well furnished with both cavalry
and artillery; infantry will be unable
TO face modern musbetry unless they
are we'll supported by guns, and have
the way OF thciv attack prepared fox
them by artillery fire. 4 .!::;;,c;k veil ct
horsemen VIII shvoud the movements of
a modern army from its opponent. and
an army which has not strong force
Cf cavalry, both 10 gain information for
it and 70 ward off its opponents scouts,
will be at the mercy of bettcr-informed
antagonist.
It viii neither be able to see nor re-
main unseen. Yet how do we find that
our attenuatcd levies are furnished witt
these necessary adjuncts? Contempt
bly so. il seems, as regards artillery
We have but nominal 900 guns all told
against :. 900 to 1000 belonging TO the
powers that may oppose us, and o.
these we coald not place above $40 II
the field.
Not only have we an abSurdly small
number of batteries, but we propose on
an outbreak of hoStilities to reduce
them bv fourteen in order to MAKE up
ammunition columns! That is to say,
we orranizc, equip and educate q scien-
tific body of men in order that they may
on the outbreak Of hostilitics be equal
10 the duties which Picl1ford's or Carter
Paterson's draymen daily perform in
our streets! The Germans on October !
last added to their artillery almost as
many runs as we have in the whole
world, and ROumania and Switzerland
can each of them put in the field about
rs many guns as can the British empire
Nor when we come to analyZe our cav
airy returns are matters more reassur
ing. We have only 1900 horses Z
mount 70. 900 troopers both in India and
at home together.