LEAGUE, 29th December, A LeacvE has been formed in London, called " The National Service League," under the of the Duke of Wellisgton, the object of which is to " promote the legislative adoption of compulsory naval or military training for National Defence." There is no intention of urging conscription in the Continental sense, The professional Army must be recruited on voluntary lines; buy what is aimed at is to make the able-bodied youth of the country go through a short course of compulsory Militia training, both in a military and in a naval sense, end s9 10 vain an immense Reserve of tramed mea who could be used to supplement the Reguli Army and free the Army and Navy for their proper task, viz, that of attacking the one Our standing army is a very small one fur the duties it is called on to perform, and the number of recruits required annually to maintain iv in a state of efficiency is not easily procured, The Secretary of State for War declares 50,000 to be necessary to keep up our regular establishment. In 1898, before the war, the largest number of recruits obtained in any year was 38,100, after the standard had been lowered to 5 feet—that is, to quote the words of Lord Newton, "about the size of a well-grown girl, of 15 or 16."
Mr. Brodrick hopes now to obtain the necessary number of recruits by offer of an adslitional twopence a day to the short service soldier, with a prospective eightpenze if he elect: to go on for long service And, a the Duke of Wellington says, "is is it likely, now that peace has come, that we shall by these methods obtain the necessary number of able-boii recruits? "Is is very doubtful But granting every success to Mr. Brodrick's new scheme, the necessity for a larg: National Reserve of trained men still remains, and the sooner this fact is brought home to the country th ter. a military or naval question but one which affects every man and woman in England and throughout the Empire. The idea of compn'swy service is repugnant to most Engtishmen and is stigmatised as en interference with the liberty of the subject." But there is one thing even more precious than the liberty of the subject and that is the liberty and safety of the State, for without the latter the former cannot exist. It is only ary to point to the free Republics of Greece and Rome in the past, and to Switzerland in the present, to show that true liberty is per-compatible with the duty of gatory military service. "The cient Jaws of England required every freeman—not bondman or serf—to bear arms and answer the call of his sovereign to oppose "the coming of strange enemies into the realm." And so too in the Roman 1 Greek Republics, freemen were liable for service, though slaves were not allowed to serve. Sir Robert Giffen, cur foremost authority on political economy, speaking on this subject said: "The whole system of taxation is a system of compulsi The whole of the property and li people of the country re vice of the State if need be, it isa very little extension of this ciple that the services of each as far as he can render them, should be liable to be called upon by compulsion in case of necessity; and that ease of necessity means that you should prepare in time of peace' for what may happen in time of war." The justice of compulsory service for home defence is also founded on our st ancient laws and is laid down Militia Ballot Act, and has been affirmed by such advocates of liberty as Locke and J. S. Mill.
Another strong argument against compulsory service is that taking so many young men away from their occupation interferes seriously with trade and commerce. But look at Germany. Has the most arduous system of conscription for thirty years prevented her from extending materially, intellectually, and econo-tically? We think no one would venture to say s Iv is impossible in the scope of a short article to discuss all the details of such a sweeping measure as a Dill to introduce compulsory service, bat we think the League are doing useful work in bringing the question before the people of the country, and, as they truly say, "a moderate system of obligatory service confers on the ion those valuable qualities of discipline, self-respect, obedience, respect for authority, cleanliness, nnd punctuality which are the natural results of sound naval or military training." to cure in Free from upwards of 30 GA. each, of all cine" Vendors throughout the World. Proprietors, The Lincoln and Midland Counties "Drug Company, Lincoln, Englard.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.