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force has in truth come of age.' Its constitution is formed; its character has developed; it has acquired the earnestness of purpose and the tolerance of discipline that belong to manhood; it has passed through the shoals and perils of youth, and may well look forward to a prolonged life, not of mere pleasure, but of solid usefulness.

The country has recognised this, and the Queen, ever prompt to act in unison with public feeling when the heart of the nation beats true, has celebrated by a distribution of honours among the officers, and by a personal welcome to the men, the majority of one of the best and noblest offspring of her reign. As a fourth portion of the Volunteer army defiled before Her Majesty in the glades of Windsor Park last month, all those who witnessed that grand spectacle must have felt that a reign marked by many social and political changes has been marked also by the creation of a new and solid bulwark of the country and the throne, and that British loyalty and patriotism have found expression, not in words only, but in deeds.

The Volunteers still retain in their manhood those qualities which characterised them in their infancy, and which most distinguish them from the regular troops. They still possess the same disposition for rifle shooting, accompanied by the commendable habit of not wasting ammunition (for which they frequently pay) without scoring advantageously on the targets at which they are firing; a habit doubly to be valued when the targets are no longer inanimate machines of wood and iron, but a living and formidable foe. They retain, moreover, the same willingness to obey orders which they understand, and the same disposition to carry them out in the spirit as well as in the letter in which they are given, and the same readiness to encounter fatigue and overcome difficulties which distinguished them in their early days. This they showed in a remarkable manner on a certain Easter Monday review day, twelve years ago, at Dover, when the whole Volunteer force then present, some 20,000 men, were soaked and deluged with rain and snow and sea-water; and after standing for some hours on parade exposed to the raging elements, were dismissed by the senior officer to seek what shelter they could in the private and the public houses of the town. But about two o'clock in the day the Commander-inChief appeared from Walmer Castle, bringing with him a gleam of fine weather; the Assembly was sounded in the streets, and in an hour's time the full force which had melted away was again under arms, in perfect order, and marching in undiminished numbers to the downs in the neighbourhood of the town. What troops of regulars, I would ask, could be found who would have carried out the spirit. of discipline and obedience so cheerfully and readily and to such an extent as this?

The Volunteers possess, though in a wider and more diffused form, that which is so greatly valued in the army, and which is

known under the name of esprit de corps. The clan-like regimental spirit is not so intense in the younger force, but if it is more cosmopolitan, it is also more rational and reasonable, and springs from reflection rather than from feeling. This esprit de corps stands them in good stead, and does not assume the form of jealousy and rivalship which it occasionally does in the regular service.

The material of the Volunteer force is the same, and the spirit is the same, as in the early days of its existence, when it began to strive after and to imitate the good qualities and discipline of its elder brother the regular army. But not only has it progressed year by year and improved in essential points, but it has improved in appearance also. The men have clothed themselves in better-looking and better-fitting garments; and they have also acquired manners more soldierlike and suitable than they knew of in their unformed schoolboy days. And these are no trifling points. Let no man henceforth despise a well-fitting tunic and a smart salute on parade or in the streets. A round-shouldered clod who knows his rifle and values his ammunition may be of use on active service, but unless he has a flat back and a quick step the British public will never believe him fit to be entrusted with the higher duties of the military profession; and in this their instinct probably guides them right.

Not only has the value of the Volunteer force become of late years more generally recognised, but the standpoint from which the public regard it is also somewhat changed. The successful operations of the Boers in the Transvaal have brought more clearly to the public mind a knowledge of the importance of the breech-loading rifle, and have also shown how great is the amount of individual intelligence, and even craft, which is needed to obtain the best results from the use of that weapon; and further, how very formidable unprofessional soldiers may become when they thoroughly understand its use.

That which more than anything keeps the Volunteer force together and renders it popular is rifle-shooting, which gives as much sport to the men as pheasant and rabbit shooting does to those who can afford it. During the long interval of several centuries in our history, since archery and tilting passed away, military exercises have found no place among the amusements and pastimes of the people. In no country have men been so devoted to what are called manly sports as in England, but till the Volunteer movement arose, no outlet for athletic exercise was found for the youth of the country, save in cricket, rowing, football, and such like games, together with sporting both on horseback and on foot. To these has now been added a new outlet for the energy of the country, and the line taken has the advantage of being patriotic and national, elevating what is to a great extent a relaxation and a pastime into the performance of an act of duty and citizenship which is recognised and admired by

the public, and which adds to the self-esteem of those who engage

in it.

Amongst the many well-wishers of the Volunteers must be included those who wish to see the youth of the country trained to those physical exercises which add so much to the graceful carriage and good appearance of young men. Englishmen of the upper classes appreciate the benefit of this form of education, and the lower orders will in time learn to value it likewise, and will be able to find it in the ranks of the Volunteers. When the improvement of the health and physique of our vast working population is occupying the thoughts of our philanthropists, let it not be forgotten that in Volunteer training we possess the best school for promoting these objects. The annual Wimbledon meetings have done much towards rendering rifle-shooting a national pastime-thus promoting the stability of the Volunteer movement by creating a wholesome competition and rivalry between the various corps. The best marksmen in each regiment are well known, and can be counted off as readily as the best speakers in the House of Commons.

A noble duke recently endeavoured to explain in the House of Lords the cause of the temporary reverses of our troops in the Transvaal, by showing that they had to encounter deer-stalkers rather than soldiers. This proves the value of skilled rifle shooting. It is obvious that men trained in the intelligent use of their weapon are of the greatest value in a campaign. A squad of such men placed behind a bank and well supplied with ammunition could silence any artillery, as the Boers are said to have done at Laing's Nek, when they made our guns all white with bullet marks.

Let me now draw attention to what is possible to be done with the modern arms of precision, supposing that the men are equal to their weapons, which can at present be said only of a few. A small welltrained body of fifty men, placed under cover, can easily fire 3,000 shots in a quarter of an hour (each man firing at the rate of four shots per minute),' and can place every shot at 800 yards into a space no larger than an ordinary-sized room. At this rate a battalion of 800 men could in half an hour pour 80,000 or 90,000 bullets into an enemy advancing against them, thus producing a shower of lead under which no troops could stand, much less advance; an instructive and consolatory reflection to a country whose army can never be numerically large, and which should therefore endeavour to make amends for the smallness of numbers by the high training and superior intelligence of the men. The waste of ammunition and the consequent loss of opportunity in war are enormous. They must always be large, but might be greatly reduced.

The form of drill best calculated to bring out the merits of rifle

'In the Mullens Competition' at Wimbledon at moving targets, the competitors, this year, fired eight shots per minute, but the hits were only fifteen per cent.

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shooting is that which tends to give to a man when going into action the fullest opportunity of carrying out his object, which is to kill his enemy and to prevent his enemy killing him. The spade is therefore destined to become an implement second only in importance to the rifle, for by its use a man can place himself in a position of comparative safety which enables him to devote his whole attention to firing. The success of his firing depends of course in great measure upon the quality of his weapon. The regular army are all furnished with the Martini-Henry rifle, while at present that weapon is only issued to the Militia and the Volunteers at the rate of three or four per cent.

The steady advance of troops in line in face of an enemy, as formerly practised, has become a thing of the past. The utmost possible independence to companies or squads under the command of officers, together with liberty to move from covert to covert as circumstances may render expedient, is what Volunteers and marksmen require. The men should know and trust their officers, and follow them with the intelligence and independent action, combined with obedience, which is seen in its most perfect form in foxhounds working under a skilful huntsman. The word of command, which is to be obeyed by several hundreds as though they were acting as one man, is now out of date, and individual intelligence and discretion must now take the place of the machine-like and unreflective obedience of soldiers drilled under the old system.

Like all institutions which have in them the element of permanence, the constitution of the Volunteer force (similar in this to the constitution of the country) has been one of gradual development and change. The attitude of the Government towards the Volunteer force has always been one of reserve, leaving it in a great degree to its own management and to its own resources. Whether this has been due to well-considered policy or to economical convenience, no other system would probably have answered as well.

In 1879 a change, involving an important improvement, was made by the Secretary of State for War under the late Government, whereby the old system, under which the Volunteers had no military chief and were acquainted with the commander of the forces only as the head of the regular army, while their own chief was to be found in the War Office, was superseded. By this new arrangement the Volunteers, like the rest of the forces of the Crown, are now placed directly under the Commander-in-Chief, who appoints an adjutant-general, who is held responsible for their discipline and good conduct. This important change of organisation, which has somewhat escaped public notice, has contributed greatly to the harmonious working of the Volunteer force, as well as to the improvement of operations in the field, and the better manner in which the force is handled by officers of the regular army at field-days and reviews.

The advantage of thus placing the Volunteers directly under the military authorities at the Horse Guards was never more noticeable

than on the occasion of the recent review in Windsor Park, when the best and most complete system of staff organisation that has yet been seen, was in force. The brigades were under the command of officers: of the regular army, who were frequently already acquainted with the men and their officers from having known them at home and in the counties and territorial districts where their depôts are placed. But the improvement of the relations subsisting between the brigadiers and the troops under their command was not the only noticeable advantage of the new staff organisation. Greater interest and a wider sense of responsibility were manifest throughout. The orders of the staff were conveyed with great precision and quietude; while the arrangements for the comfort of the men displayed much care and methodical forethought. Never before have Volunteers been treated with so much consideration as on the occasion of their visit to Windsor, and by their orderly conduct and readiness to carry out orders they proved themselves well worthy of such consideration. Never before have the travelling arrangements been so complete or so comprehensive-a result in great measure due to these combinations having been made by direct communication between the War Office and the railway authorities, instead of (as on previous occasions) between the Volunteer commanders and the railway officials-all orders respecting conveyance by rail being on this occasion issued direct from the War Office. The railway stations were under the charge of experienced officers, whose management of the Volunteers was admirable. In my experience the Horse Guards have never taken so much pains to make a review succeed. That the Horse Guards Staff would have endeavoured to do this under any system no one will deny; but now that the Volunteers are under the immediate control and direction of the Commander-in-Chief, it has been done con amore, as was indeed natural and to be expected. To this improved system of organisation, therefore, do we owe the marked change for the better, and the improved understanding subsisting between the authorities at headquarters and the Volunteers. A further attempt at centralisation was contemplated by the Quartermaster-General's department, who proposed to provide provisions for the troops during the day. This plan was, however, abandoned, leaving each regiment to provide their own food in their own way. Another and more successful attempt may possibly be made on some future occasion, though it may be open to doubt whether, under the unformed system of the Volunteers, the decentralisation system with regard to the commissariat is not the safer plan to rely on.

Having shown some of the various changes and improvements which the Volunteer force have undergone, it will be well now to consider the position which it at present occupies, and to ascertain clearly what it is that the country has to rely upon, and to what extent it can look to the Volunteer army for aid in case of need.

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