The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-03
MILITIA EMBODIMENT. Y"
WHAT THE PHRASE MEANS AND
 HOW THE
Operation is Conducted in the British
 Army.

Operation is Conducted fin the British
 Army.
 The term embodiment of the militia force" must not be confounded with
 mobilization. Embodiment means placed on active military service with
 in the confines of the United Kingdom,
 the embodied battalions being utilized
 to perform ordinary garrison duty at
 the forts, camps. and other military stations selected by the authorities
 within that area, though those units which voluntarily offer to serve in the Channel Islands; Isle of Man, Malta, or Gibraltar, may be dispatched thither as circumstances require. On the other hand, mobilization of the militia would mean, first, the embodiment of the whole constitutional force at the head quarters of it's respective territorial districts, where it would also draw the special mobilization equipment for &C., tive service in the field; secondly, the immediate dispatch of the units to strategical stations already allotted to each in tn mobilizations tables for home defense The embodiment of a militia unit is, in short, nothing more than the annual training on an extended scale, the assembly being accomplished as fol- lows: Already bills have been posted on the church doors and other public places announcing that the Fourth Battalion of the Blankshire Regiment will be em- bodied on Nov. 2d, and that every man must report himself at the regimental depot by the hour of P. M, on that day. Private notices to the some effect have also been sent by post from the depot orderly room to each man at the residence stated on his attestation pa- per, or, as subsequently notified by him; and these public and private notices will be deemed sufficient, and no excuse for non-appearance allowed. Accord ingly from early morning on the day of embodiment, steady stream of militia men will come filing trough the barrack gates, outside which there is certain to be gathered a crowd of pseudo camp fol-
  ter tearfully interrogating the Sergeant of the guard as to when the battalion is to sail for South Africa, and as to how many of their lords and masters are likely to be killed and wounded. Each man as he enters Is sent before the doctor to be examined concerning his fitness for duty Those found to be hopelessly unfit will be exempted from the embodiment and their train fare home paid, receiving in addition the militia pay, allowances and bounty as if called up for training, while those only temporary so will be admitted into the military hospital, until they are we'll enough to join. The medical in- spection being passed, however, the men proceed to the armory, where they receive their uniforms, kits and rifles. The change from civilian to military clothing takes place in the adjoining barrack rooms, and the former Is then brought to the armory, where 1t Is furni gated and slowed away in lockers cor responding with each mans regimental number For the purposes of embodi- ment the ordinary militia kits are rein forced to the scale laid down for those of linesmen--that is to say, extra fan mel shirts and pairs of socks are added while contrary to the state affairs which holds good during a training these kits are now kept up at the mems expense. On disembodiment however they will take away with them as their own property, including the knife, fork spoon, razor, comb, the laying out of which in this, their proper order In the ho1 oil oc t,,r,, r1 bo ot kit inspection, is chronic puzzle to the typical miitiaman.
 About o'clock, the battalion, or as much as there Is of it--for there are certain to be many more "casualties' than is the case in an ordinary assembly for training-will fall in, and the Adju- tant will then ride up to read out the Army act, by which the men are render ed amenable to military law The off, cers and permanent staff of militia units are subject to military law all the year round, but not so with the rank and file until this formality has been gone through. The band will then strike up the regimental march, the battalions stand to attention, fix bayonets, and shoulder" while the escort brings the | cased colors from the stores. All will | then be ready for a start, and as the | eenral run of territorial district depots | are quite incapable of finding barrack | accommodation for at least 800 men, and | and as the authorities seek to | avoid billeting whenever possible | it is probable that the battalion will march off straight away to the railway station, there to entrain for some such military center as Aldershot Colchester, Portsmouth. &c At the embodiment of 1885 the militia units af- fected, including Irish regiments, were nearly all concentrated at points south of the Thames and this arrangement | is likely to De repeated. On arriving at | their destination the battallons will take over the accommodation vacated | by their brethren of the line who have | been dispatched on active service, for l between the end of September and the first week of May it is not permissible for militia units to be placed under can- vas The embodied militia will now do duty and be treated just as regular sol ders. They will be clothed, paid and governed under the regulations and roy u warrants for the regular army, and the efficacy of the force should be much increased by steady routine drill, guards, field days, and musketry pra ctire which will now be nocop,po