Lord Lansdowne's speech at Edinburgh last week has attracted " great deal of ut-tention, it being, as a matter of fact, a reply to the numerous criticisms that have been going on in the papers and elsewhere as to the efficiency or otherwise of our Army. That changes are required he quite grants, also that the Service needs to be made more attractive, and with this object in view he intends in future td allow the men their full shilling a day, not deducting as heretofore 34. for groceries. Also with the object of fitting the men for some means of earning a living at the expiration of their time of service he proposes teaching every man a trade in his idle hours. This proposition has met with very general approval, as undoubtedly one of the great disadvantages of enlistment is that when a man's time is up he is often strong and able-bodied, but having no trade is quite unable to compete with men of his own age who have all their lives worked at one. Li he works even for a few hours a some trade his position at the expi of his time will be very different.
Conscription has even been talked about by so-called army critics who feel that something should be done to augment "the ranks," but this Lord Lansdowne strongly disapproved of, relying far more on making the service more attractive. Altogether his speech has been very favourably commented on, not only by the Press but by men of experience in the army and by the country generally.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.