Mar, 22.
Tue British Government to-day is in unhappy plight over the Army. The estimates published jast week show that the defence forces of the Empire are in a state. of transition. What they do not show, but what can be learned from other sources, is that we are. leaving ourselves in a most dangerous position so far as military requirements are concerned. We have found otirselves in a similar position before, and haverblundered through, and with true British conservatism We are prepared to do so again.. In spite of the war we have failed to become a nation. of military thinkers, such as France is, and we go on cheerfully in the conviction of our traditional invincibility. The best. we can hope is that we shall have: the same luck as in the past, and. so far as can be seen, it is this luck on which the Government is gambling. To-day we rely on something less than our pre-war regular army and on our Territorial Force. Yet we have a larger part. of the world to police, and a world containing more unruly elements, and while: we are cutting down our old regular army, both in India and at Home, we are faced with the fact that the Territorial Force, on which Mr. Churchill as Secretary for War placed so much re~ hance, is much below strength. So bad is recruiting for that Government has felt oh ed to offer concessions to these joining, and this means that if we succeed in gaining in numbers we shall lose in discipline and efficiency—a very poor substitute indeed.
Seeing that the Territoriak Force since the armistice has not come up to strength, it might have been thought that the War Office: would have refused to agree to the disbandment of the four cavalry regiments which are to disappear: from the Army List. As specially mobile troops it is possible see Wide scope for them in coun—tries such as Egypt, Mesopotamia,. India and Africa where our _commitments are very heavy. Should' trouble break out in any of these-places we should do our best
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.