Ar a recent meeting of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, a proposition was made by Major C. J. Holliday which did not seem to meet with much favour from those present. We refer to the suggested institution of a Veteran Company, to consist, as we understand it, of gentlemen who, being past the prime of life, and therefore unable to endure the fatigues of the field, shoald be of use as a Reserve. There were probably two reasons for the cold reception afforded to this scheme. In the first place, it was not very clearly defined what the Veterans would be expected todo, and in the second place, a similar trial had been made some ten years previously which did not prove a very great success. At the time of the Tientsin massacre, when every able-bodied man in Shanghai became a Volunteer, a number of family men, many of them well on in years, enrolled themselves as a Home Guard, as it was called, their special duty being apparently to protect the hongs and in case of need to act as street buffers or barricades while the younger men were ghting in the field, Pro aris et fois" might have been selected as their special motto; and although they were not intended to take any very active part in the hostilities, it was believed, and perhaps justly, that the mer force of their presence in the Settle. ment would be sufficient not only to inspire courage in the breasts of trembling women, but also to awe the mob, like the Mayor in Barnaby Rudge.' Happily there was never any occasion for their services; had such arisen, we are sure they would have done their part like loyal citizens, and lived down the frivolous fan that was indulged in at their expense by younger men.
Now that the idea of utilising the senior members of our commanity has been again revived, we think it is a pity it should be dropped for the mere want of a more definite shape than it boasts at present. We therefore beg to offer the following suggestion, for which we are indebted toa paragraph in the Times of January the 19th. We there read of the presentation of certificates by the Lord Mayor of London to the members of an Ambulance Corps, who, from the expert and workmanlike manner in which they performed their drill, seem fully to have merited the civic approbation. It seems that the Volantear Ambulauce Department, which was ted in 1876, has, under the patronage of the Duke of Cambridge, and with the friendly assistance of the Army Medical Department, flourish. ed greatly, and is now officially recognized by the War Office. The proportion of members is about two in each company, which gives a total of about 5,000 Volunteers altogether who should be capable of acting in this capacity. Now here we have, out aid dry, an opening for our ardent Veteratis. Nothing could be found more suitable, for nothing is likely to be more needed. At the recent Battle of Love Lane, or Slunting-bridge Road, to give it its Chinese name, our Volunteers showed a regardlesaness of danger that absolutely made one shudder. They sought the bubble reputation at the muzzles of half a hundred rifles, all belching forth fire and smoke, Their Commander galloped gaily in front of the attacking party, scarcely visible behind the-clouds that shrouded him, and exposing his body as a target to the numberless bullets that would have whizzed around him had not his men been firing, thanks to akind Providence, with blank cartridge, To have so much courage in a Corps and no Ambulance Service will never do, and we suggest that steps be iti-mediately taken to supply the want, The drill is likely to be of a particularly interesting description, judging from the account given inthe Times. A number of stalwart Rangers, Artillerymen, and Infantry, will be told off to act the part of the wounded, These gentlemen will accordingly throw themselves upon the ground, and exhibit all the sufferings and contortions proper to their supposed condition. The veterans will then immediately rush to their relief, They will bring forth bandages, staunch the gaping wounds, bind up the broken limbs, and then gently carry the groan roes away on an improvised litter, consisting of an Ulster coat thrown over a couple of rifles. The greatest ingenuity and patience will be requisite for the proper despatch of these duties, and care will have to be taken to seo that the bandages are properly applied to the wounded parts without that ruthless application of the scissors to the sufferer's trousers which la necessary in onses of real damage. All this will furnish a pleasant variety to the tedium of an afternoon's outing, besides bringing much good fooling into play. It will have a beneficial and chastening influence upon the blue-bloused crowd who stand staring so intelligently at the manceuvres of our marioes and volanteors, and probably re them with more respect for the foreign art of war than they havecherished hitherto, That the duties here described will be infinitely agreeable to the elderly gentlemen who are supposed undertake them admits of no doubt whatever. The exercise of benevolence towards a suffering fellow-creature cannot but be attended by emotions ennobling to humanity in the very high. est degree. Whether the wounded will enjoy being dumped about on improvised hammocks and put in baud ages and splints is a question that we need not trouble ourselves to answer it la enough that the endurance of these charitable offices will be only a part of their duty on the field, and that obedience, not restiveness, is the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.