Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1900-04-18
LOTS OF VOLUNTEERS
The British Corps Numbers $50, 900
Unseasoned Men.
ney Have Never seen Service, hut
They Are Eager Ia Go TO the Front
The Honorable ARTILLERY
and YeOmanry.

The British volunteer corps rs IL eX-
lists to-day is the result OF an enlist
ment act of 1860, the act, in turn, being
the fruit Of a fear Of invasion in that
year. The volunteers number roughly
100000 men, cost the government Il
triile over S3,000,0OO a year, and none
of them ever has seen service. That is
10 say, the volunteers rs n body have
existed only since 1850, but there are
two or three regiments which dat,
back far, indeed, notably the Victoria
rifles and the duke of Cumbrrlaud's
sharpshootcrs, which were in being
when William ~. was prince of Wales.
Older by far, h. ever, il the Honorable
Artillery company, which received a
,ieit from itS American offspring, the
ANCIENT and Honorable Artillery com
Yauy, Of Boston. last year, and which
viii repay the compliment by makiEga
trip to the United States this year.
A. hr will hr II regular when in the
field, the British volunteer will be treat
al a. one. He will roc, i've ''Tummy's"
pay, which is about go cents u day and
found He will cat Mr.. Atkins RAJ
tions-a pound Of timed meat and
half "a pound of fresh meat. when il can
Lr had, fresh bread or crackers he VIII
call them "biscnits-uHd sugar, tea
aud coffee, when possible. His hit,
blankets and groa; cont be will furnish
himself, but The government will trans
port him 10 the >ccnc Of uctiou.
Friends and advocates Of the yUluu-
iccrs and yeomanry say that those
branches of the service have been dis
rnGragcd, snccrcd ~ and generally sat
on by the war Office ever siEcr their es-
enlistment, aud that their acceptance
for service row may be- regarded as a
great victory, giving Il. Lord Lands
apwuc the credit for the new order Of
things. An officer connected with the
war Office told me, however, that the
Guhbub WAS entirely without reason.
that all the noise was made 10y a few
indictments. and that uo change what
ever had taken place under Lord Lands
downc'S administration 30 far rs the
volunteers were concerned. On the
other hand, people who have no par
ticular interest in the volunteers say
that their being permitted 10 take part
in The wal NJ this time is "A dircc, Insult
To the militia.
At any rate, il can never be said that
the volunteers, to whom was given that
chance, were slow to accept il, rs II
score or more of commanding officers
throughout London and the provinces,
who are being harasSed to desperation
by every Individual member of their
commands, can testify. Men have al
most taken 10 figuring on their chances
for going with paper and pencil. For
instance, | have heard volunteers say:
There are 1000 men in my battalion,
and there will be- 10 chosen; that gives
me about one chance in ten. Then my
record for Workmanship i, so many
points, and craftsmanship is going TO
lac the deciding test, and the general
average is about 50 much etc, When
the fortunate 1lG-'fOrtunatc' is the
volunteers word-are told or there is
going 10 he actual bitterness.
The venerable organization of hon
orable artillery and yeomanry was
formed by Henry VIII, in 1901 for, as
the king quantity put it, "the bettere
encreaSe of the defense of this cur
realm" This company, then, was
formed more than a full century before
any other existing corps; it was in gar
rison at Tilbury when Drake met Phil
FPS Armada; it fought under Crom-
well in the civil wars and was almost
wiped out by the great plague. Later,
half Of its barracks was destroyed in
the London fire. Since its beginning il
has taken part in all public ceremouials
and all ~crowniugs of soyereignS Of
England.
The leomanry, 10000 of whom will
he selected for service in South Africa,
dates hack as a force much further than
the volunteers or militia. The leu-
many consists entirely of cavalry, and
its members are mostly country gentle
men who are IN the saddle much of the
time. They are obliged 10 furnish their
W mounts and equipment, and are
drilled much more severely and FREE
queutly than either of the other two
branches Of volunteers. Their total is
1900, and they cost the government
$4,000 annually. The first detach-
ment Of 1000 sailed on january 10
Cincinnati Commercial Tribune.