infrequent occurrence. A couple of generations have sufficed to remove the grievance and to accustom the minds of young citizens to look upon military service as one of the duties of life, which is performed quietly, naturally, and without heroics. One of the consequences of this change is that our neighbours are beginning to despise us for delegating the defence of our Empire to what they regard as mercenary troops. I do not think we realise how deep this feeling is in their minds. We think their dislike of us is entirely due to envy. I fear there is in it a considerable element of contempt. And the greater our prosperity, the more splendid the Empire becomes, the stronger is this feeling on their part, that our power is maintained and defended not by the personal service and personal sacrifice of each individual citizen, but by a people which sits at home and pays others to fight for it. The picture is no doubt distorted, but it is salutary at times to see ourselves as others see us.

There can be little doubt that a good deal of the prejudice which exists amongst us against compulsory military service is due to misconceptions and to well-worn traditions with regard to the imaginary horrors and ruinous consequences of conscription. Within the limits of a short article it is obviously impossible to deal fully with so large a question, but one or two points may be touched upon. There is no serious reason, military or other, why compulsory military training in this kingdom should conform to the Continental type. There is indeed every reason in our national character and in our actual military requirements why it should not. One of the most objectionable features in the foreign system is barrack life, but why should that be essential to effective military training? It might just as well have been urged as an argument against compulsory education that you would be obliged to send every child in the land away from home to a boarding-school. It is perfectly feasible to establish a system which will not withdraw lads from their own localities at all, but will be carried on over a series of years, very much as our elementary education is carried on in the earlier years of life, with the least possible disturbance to local and home life. I am speaking of course of military training and not of military service.

Another well-known objection is the 'deplorable economic waste' of withdrawing young men from the pursuit of industries during the period of their military training. Again I say we need not and probably should not adopt the Continental plan. With our shortened hours of labour there is plenty of time in the life of a youth for the acquisition of useful military instruction without any very serious interruption to the industries of the nation. We have an idea in this country that it is rather clever of us to have the whole of our male population uninterruptedly engaged in the production of wealth, while our neighbours have to take a couple of years out of the life of each of

their able-bodied sons. There is a dangerous similarity between this view and that which has permitted our children to leave school at an earlier age than the children of any other enlightened people. The true strength of a nation lies not in its wealth, but in the health, vigour, and discipline of its people. Those of us who, like the present writer, employ large numbers of men on the Continent as well as in our own country cannot fail to form a favourable opinion of the excellent effect military training has had upon the bearing and physique of Continental populations. We talk of the economic waste of this system, and yet the country in which it is most strictly enforced is the very country which has increased most rapidly in wealth and has become our most formidable industrial rival. I mean of course Germany. The military delegate of Germany to the Peace Conference at the Hague not only refused to admit that military service was an economic burden to his country, but declared that its educational and disciplinary value were among the principal causes of Germany's industrial progress and success, and in this he is confirmed by many English observers. Germany has, I believe, succeeded in making her Army not only what it of course primarily should be, a perfect instrument of national defence, but also a great school of physical training and moral discipline. When one reflects upon the absolute neglect of physical training among vast masses of our own population, crowded together in large towns, dependent for bodily exercise upon chance games, which very few of them know how to play, one is inclined to wonder whether compulsory military training will not one day be demanded in the interest of public health and national well-being, even if it is not resorted to for purposes of national defence. We are in a position where not to go forward is to go back. In war as in trade we are continuing › to pit our haphazard system against the carefully reasoned and elaborately organised systems of other peoples.

Coming back to the purely military problem, it is in our case undoubtedly a peculiar one. Our Army for foreign service must always be a voluntary Army. None would dream of maintaining the contrary. We are a fighting race, and the spirit of our people is sufficiently martial and adventurous to supply an adequate number of recruits for active service in ordinary times. It is at moments of crisis that the weakness of our system becomes apparent, that it betrays the narrowness of the basis upon which it rests. What we need is to widen that basis, to call gradually into existence a nation trained to arms, upon which we can rely entirely for home defence, and to which we can appeal confidently for any number of volunteers for foreign service. It is rather universal military training than universal military service that we require.

We saw how splendid was the response last year to the call for volunteers for South Africa. Can we doubt that it would have been

infrequent occurrence. A couple of generations have sufficed to remove the grievance and to accustom the minds of young citizens to look upon military service as one of the duties of life, which is performed quietly, naturally, and without heroics. One of the consequences of this change is that our neighbours are beginning to despise us for delegating the defence of our Empire to what they regard as mercenary troops. I do not think we realise how deep this feeling is in their minds. We think their dislike of us is entirely due to envy. I fear there is in it a considerable element of contempt. And the greater our prosperity, the more splendid the Empire becomes, the stronger is this feeling on their part, that our power is maintained and defended not by the personal service and personal sacrifice of each individual citizen, but by a people which sits at home and pays others to fight for it. The picture is no doubt distorted, but it is salutary at times to see ourselves as others see us.

There can be little doubt that a good deal of the prejudice which exists amongst us against compulsory military service is due to misconceptions and to well-worn traditions with regard to the imaginary horrors and ruinous. consequences of conscription. Within the limits of a short article it is obviously impossible to deal fully with so large a question, but one or two points may be touched upon. There is no serious reason, military or other, why compulsory military training in this kingdom should conform to the Continental type. There is indeed every reason in our national character and in our actual military requirements why it should not. One of the most objectionable features in the foreign system is barrack life, but why should that be essential to effective military training? might just as well have been urged as an argument against compulsory education that you would be obliged to send every child in the land away from home to a boarding-school. It is perfectly feasible to establish a system which will not withdraw lads from their own localities at all, but will be carried on over a series of years, very much as our elementary education is carried on in the earlier years of life, with the least possible disturbance to local and home life. I am speaking of course of military training and not of military service.

It

Another well-known objection is the 'deplorable economic waste' of withdrawing young men from the pursuit of industries during the period of their military training. Again I say we need not and probably should not adopt the Continental plan. With our shortened hours of labour there is plenty of time in the life of a youth for the acquisition of useful military instruction without any very serious interruption to the industries of the nation. We have an idea in this country that it is rather clever of us to have the whole of our male population uninterruptedly engaged in the production of wealth, while our neighbours have to take a couple of years out of the life of each of

was an

their able-bodied sons. There is a dangerous similarity between this. view and that which has permitted our children to leave school at an earlier age than the children of any other enlightened people. The true strength of a nation lies not in its wealth, but in the health, vigour, and discipline of its people. Those of us who, like the present writer, employ large numbers of men on the Continent as well as in our own country cannot fail to form a favourable opinion of the excellent effect military training has had upon the bearing and physique of Continental populations. We talk of the economic waste of this system, and yet the country in which it is most strictly enforced is the very country which has increased most rapidly in wealth and has become our most formidable industrial rival. I mean of course Germany. The military delegate of Germany to the Peace Conference at the Hague not only refused to admit that military service economic burden to his country, but declared that its educational and disciplinary value were among the principal causes of Germany's industrial progress and success, and in this he is confirmed by many English observers. Germany has, I believe, succeeded in making her Army not only what it of course primarily should be, a perfect instrument of national defence, but also a great school of physical training and moral discipline. When one reflects upon the absolute neglect of physical training among vast masses of our own population, crowded together in large towns, dependent for bodily exercise upon chance games, which very few of them know how to play, one is inclined to wonder whether compulsory military training will not one day be demanded in the interest of public health and national well-being, even if it is not resorted to for purposes of national defence. We are in a position where not to go forward is to go back. In war as in trade we are continuing to pit our haphazard system against the carefully reasoned and elaborately organised systems of other peoples. Coming back to the purely military problem, it is in our case undoubtedly a peculiar one. Our Army for foreign service must. always be a voluntary Army. None would dream of maintaining the contrary. We are a fighting race, and the spirit of our people is sufficiently martial and adventurous to supply an adequate number of recruits for active service in ordinary times. It is at moments of crisis that the weakness of our system becomes apparent, that it betrays the narrowness of the basis upon which it rests. What we need is to widen that basis, to call gradually into existence a nation trained to arms, upon which we can rely entirely for home defence, and to which we can appeal confidently for any number of volunteers for foreign service. It is rather universal military training than universal military service that we require.

We saw how splendid was the response last year to the call for volunteers for South Africa. Can we doubt that it would have been

.

infrequent occurrence. A couple of generations have sufficed to remove the grievance and to accustom the minds of young citizens to look upon military service as one of the duties of life, which is performed quietly, naturally, and without heroics. One of the consequences of this change is that our neighbours are beginning to despise us for delegating the defence of our Empire to what they regard as mercenary troops. I do not think we realise how deep this feeling is in their minds. We think their dislike of us is entirely due to envy. I fear there is in it a considerable element of contempt. And the greater our prosperity, the more splendid the Empire becomes, the stronger is this feeling on their part, that our power is maintained and defended not by the personal service and personal sacrifice of each individual citizen, but by a people which sits at home and pays others to fight for it. The picture is no doubt distorted, but it is salutary at times to see ourselves as others see us.

There can be little doubt that a good deal of the prejudice which exists amongst us against compulsory military service is due to misconceptions and to well-worn traditions with regard to the imaginary horrors and ruinous consequences of conscription. Within the limits of a short article it is obviously impossible to deal fully with so large a question, but one or two points may be touched upon. There is no serious reason, military or other, why compulsory military training in this kingdom should conform to the Continental type. There is indeed every reason in our national character and in our actual military requirements why it should not. One of the most objectionable features in the foreign system is barrack life, but why should that be essential to effective military training? might just as well have been urged as an argument against compulsory education that you would be obliged to send every child in the land away from home to a boarding-school. It is perfectly feasible to establish a system which will not withdraw lads from their own localities at all, but will be carried on over a series of years, very much as our elementary education is carried on in the earlier years of life, with the least possible disturbance to local and home life. I am speaking of course of military training and not of military service.

It

Another well-known objection is the 'deplorable economic waste' of withdrawing young men from the pursuit of industries during the period of their military training. Again I say we need not and probably should not adopt the Continental plan. With our shortened hours of labour there is plenty of time in the life of a youth for the acquisition of useful military instruction without any very serious interruption to the industries of the nation. We have an idea in this country that it is rather clever of us to have the whole of our male population uninterruptedly engaged in the production of wealth, while our neighbours have to take a couple of years out of the life of each of