To men possessing qualifications for the work there is probably no. branch of active military servi alertness and resource are necessary in ordinary field intelligence duty. It is not, however, work which need takes very prominent part in the training of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, for the whole Settlement would scarcely afford an arena large enough to test the ability reap of scouts. But if information were gained on the outskirts of the Settlement it would have to be conveyed personally to Headquarters, for the country does not favour signalling. That fact has been considered, and is responsible for the fact that no heliographs are used by our Volunteers although there are four qualified helio operators in the Corps. The trans. mission of messages could, no doubt. be best performed by cyclists, and haps there will yet be a cyclist unit which could be made use of in this if required. But even with fast cyclists some time would be lost in travelling.
There is yet another form of obserration which' would be practically instantaneous in recording events, and most reliable in its observations. For there are no depressions around Shang-in which troops could advance unseen by men in a balloon. A post aloft provided with powerful glasses
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.