The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-02-13
THE T ARMY.
A Criticism of the Schemes Of Sir
william ROdrick.

London, Saturday January 24.-While
Mr.. Chamberlain is daily gaining laur-
els in South Africa Mr.. Brodrick is
daily losing them at home. The reason
is easily found. When you listen to
Mr.. Chamberlain speaking, nothing
strikes you more than the fact that this
man does not begin a sentence till h
knows exactly where he is going to end
it. He is a business man, intent on
business. You could never feel that
with Ar. Gladstone. He seemed never
satisfied till he had pursued mis- argu-
ment into every nook and canny, with
the result that before o reached the
end Of his sentence you were left out
of breath, and wondering where it all
began. There was. it is true a magne-
tic charm over 1t all, and even in your
bewilderment you were delighted.
Abou Mr.. Chamberlain's utterances
there is nothing magnetic and little to
delight. AS you listen to his most per-
fervid imperial utterances-and it is Of
ours upon the imperial theme that
Mr.. Chamberlain is at his best just
now-it Is the rattle of gold sovereigns
lIldl llOluS yOuI dlltlllOu.
Mr.. Brodrick is neither a Gladstone
nor a Chamberlain, and it is because Of
his failure to magnetic On the one hand
and to limit himself to the abso utely
attainable On the other that he is at
this moment probably the most d.scred-
tied Of British ministers. You know,
Of course, how gigantic was The task
that Mr.. Brodrick took in hand when
ha aSc,,poaI Tho pocitiar 90 eoornto,, of
state for war. One who has seen much
Of him, and was not long ago a bell 9v-
er in his powers as a c~on-tructive
statesman, told mo the other day m
thing Of the manner in which Mr..
Brodrick set out upon the long road OF
army obstacles. He came into of7ce
by favor. so it is said of Lord Salisbury
ard Lord ~Lansdowne. for Mr.. Brod-
rick is in no sense a Chamberlain man.
At once he called about him two or
three of the innumerable gentlemen of
Pail Mall and Whitehall who walk
about with cut-and-dried army schemes
in their pockets, too their schemes
home, pored over them with that in
dustry which is his chief characteristic.
and in an incredibly short space of
time pieced them together into a most
plausible and seemly organic Who'll.
1t was an excellent bit of paper work.
But the criticism which Sir Charles
Dixie is said to have passed upon it
when privately submitted to his judg-
ment, before it became the property of
parliament. remains the true judgment
"A beautiful scheme" Sir Charles
Dixie is reported to have said: seems
to provide for every contingency-ex-
cent ona' "A nd fhat iS - nl1ariod
the minister. 1.-The omitted contin-
gency;" replied Sir Charles. is the
contingency Of war"
SKELETON BATTALIONS.
This grandiose scheme set out to pro-
vide six army corps. If there were any
necessity at all for so vast an organiZa-
ton and any vitality in Mr.. Brodrick's
plan Of providing it, the scheme by this
time would show signs of effective
working order. Not only is the South
African war we'll over, but the great
body Of troops are back in this country.
SO are the generals; and, in fact, all
the filling in of Mr.. Brodrick's outline
Is now here. Yet, scanning the army
list, what do we find? The first army
corps at A~ldershot, under General Sir
John French, instead of twenty-four
battalions of infantry, possesses only
twelve. Some of the commanding Of
ficers Of divisions have no staff. no
brigadiers, and some of the brigades
have ven no men nor is there any
| prospect Of men. And this, be it re-
membered. is the very head and front
of Mr.. Brodrick's army corps scheme
the first army corps; the body that
may be called upon to proceed abroad
at any moment in the service Of the
empire. Turn to the second army
corps and you find things far worse
Under Sir Evenly Wood, with head
quarters at Salisbury. it consists OF
some batteries of field artillery, 81 de.
| tachment of army service corps. am
! army ordnance corps. The Seventh
brigade, the Eighth brigade, and Sec.
| n cavalry divisions have no men a
all attached to them, while the Sixth
division has enough men only to make
up one brigade. The Third army corps
in Ireland. is not much better off. and
as The Times points out in a series o
trenchant articles in the whole problem
of the army, these are the three army
corps which are supposed to be com
posed entirely of regulars and ready tt
take the field anywhere at the shortes
III ms " lhC ICSl. " o-"'l
quote this Times authority, 9Th,
Fourth army corps has just had tn
appointment Of it's commander gazett
ed, and will probably before long conn
into e~xistence-on paper. The Fiftl
and Sixth army corps have not, as yet
even begun to pretend to exist" AL
together, as The Times writer says
Mr.. Brodrick's army corps are yer!
much like the Kings robes In one o
Hans Andersen's fairy tales. which
every one made believe to see till som
child in the street cried out, But tn
King has got nothing on" This is a
far as Mr.. Brodrick has got in min,
months since the war, and two year
since the army corps system was insti
tuted.
OF urse the oot Of Mr.. Brodrick'
trouble lies in the fact that recruitin
does no come up to the requirement
of his scheme. For these many day
past the resident in London has wit
messed each day the parade Of thous
aO6S IF nnnnp1ova1 They 90 mas