the peace. Enthusiasms in the East are short-lived; the National Congress itself had lost all repute when fresh vitality was infused into it by a breath from the shores of Manchuria. It is only in the interests of the rising generation that new departures are called forthe strengthening and reform of educational supervision, and, above all, for the protection of the young, the control of the press.

BAMPFYLDE FULLER.

MR. HALDANE'S TERRITORIAL

ARTILLERY

FOR some years past every War Minister has apparently considered the reorganization of the Army to be his chief function. Why an army should require reorganization every three or four years is not evident, for such constant changes are more or less detrimental to the Service, and destroy all confidence in the continuance of any system. The present War Minister has been working very hard with the assistance of the Army Council to contrive a combined scheme embracing both regular and auxiliary forces, and enabling the latter to afford an efficient support to the former in time of war. Of the auxiliary forces the Militia, now called the Special Reserve, are to supply trained drafts to the regular forces; and the Volunteers, termed the Territorial Army, are intended for home defence. With the main portion of the Territorial Army scheme this paper is not concerned, but the part relating to artillery is not only experimental but unpractical, and Lord Roberts's warning respecting it would probably be endorsed by every artillery officer of experience who has served for any time with field batteries.

Neither Mr. Haldane nor his advisers could have realised what would be required to organize an immense force of 196 efficient field batteries. Such a force would, if organized in brigades like regular field artillery, with ammunition columns, require in time of war about 1630 officers, 2437 sergeants, 2744 artificers, 56,187 rank and file (corporals, gunners and drivers), 587 trumpeters, and 64,083 horses. Some of the transport for ammunition columns in rear of the fighting line might perhaps be done by motors. For a peace establishment, similarly organized in brigades of batteries, these 196 Territorial field batteries, making about 65 brigades, would require about 1110 officers, 1829 sergeants, 28,665 rank and file, 457 trumpeters, and 17,900 horses.

As the horse and field Territorial batteries are to have reduced establishments of only four guns and eight ammunition wagons on a peace footing, there will be a corresponding reduction in the number of horses required. But the supply of horses for the Territorial besides the regular field artillery in time of war will probably be a matter of great and increasing difficulty; for as more omnibuses, vans, and other vehicles are supplied with motor traction, fewer horses. of the required class will be available for field artillery.

As they are to be field batteries, they must be drilled singly and in brigades, to march in different formations, to deploy, to take up positions, to come into action and retire promptly, and change front. The old-fashioned complicated drills are no longer necessary, nor with our long-ranging guns are advances over short distances of any use, but the simple movements mentioned above are required for ordinary manoeuvring. To obtain suitable grounds for such drills and exercises all over the country would be both difficult and costly. It has been sometimes rather hard, even before the late increase of field batteries, to get, at some stations, ground large enough to drill a couple of batteries.

Besides drilling-grounds a number of practice ranges must be obtained. Such ranges for modern artillery must embrace a large extent of country, for the ranges of field ordnance are much longer now than formerly, and also the possible deflections are greater. Firing at targets on sea ranges or along flat beaches is of little use for field artillery, although for position guns for coast defence they might be employed with advantage. The practice ranges at Okehampton and Salisbury in England, at Trawsfynydd in Wales, and at Glen Immal in Ireland, are barely sufficient for the service horse artillery and field batteries. If each battery was allowed a week to fire a moderate allowance of ammunition, say 400 rounds, annually, the 196 batteries would require some forty-nine months to get through it, so that numerous ranges must be obtained to allow practice at suitable times. It must be remembered that gun practice cannot be carried on at all times and seasons; fog, drenching rain, and snow might stop it. To get the few adequate practice ranges for the service artillery batteries was no easy matter, and cost a good deal of money. It is very improbable that the difficulties of providing all the means described above for the training of such a large force as 196 field batteries could be surmounted; but, if they could be, the greatest difficulty of all would be the training of the batteries, which would take up far more time than volunteer troops could afford to give, although some of them might be able to manage to come out on many occasions beyond the fifteen days annual course. They would not only require training in discipline, horse management, manoeuvring, and gun practice to be brought into an efficient state to enable their majors to employ them skilfully, but continuous training afterwards to preserve efficiency.

After the Boer War and previous to the introduction of the two new field guns-13-pr. for horse artillery and 18-pr. for field artillery— the regular artillery of our Army consisted of:

And it has been a matter of surprise to the Army, at any rate the artillery portion of it, why such a much larger force should have been decided upon for the Territorial army. Mr. Haldane, however, gave the reason in the House of Commons: 'The general staff eighteen months ago were of opinion that there should be five guns for every 1000 bayonets and sabres, and that was the proportion he was insisting on maintaining.' This is no doubt a sound principle for large armies of regular troops when campaigning in extensive open countries on the Continent, but is scarcely applicable to the defence of our small enclosed country against comparatively small forces, which could be brought over-sea for raiding purposes. To resist invasion by a large army, if such could be landed on our shores, a very large force of regular field artillery, besides any Territorial artillery, would be absolutely essential.

of:

According to the Army Order the Territorial artillery is to consist

This gives eight batteries short of the stated number 196; but if the howitzer brigades are to consist of three instead of two batteries, the number will be forty-two howitzer batteries and the total will be 196, exclusive of the six heavy batteries for the defence of ports.

Besides the batteries, the proper proportion-a very large one— of ammunition columns for artillery and infantry are laid down as part of the scheme. Such a force is well proportioned as regards the different kinds of batteries for the artillery of a large regular army, but to organize and thoroughly train it on a volunteer system is, as has been pointed out, simply impracticable. To increase some 127 semi-mobile volunteer batteries to 196 field batteries would be, as Lord Lansdowne said, a colossal project and a tremendous plunge, nor is it necessary. The greater portion of the volunteer artillery should consist of semi-mobile or light position batteries on the principle well understood and provided for years ago; when a large number of 40-pr. R.B.L. guns (excellent weapons) were kept ready, and a plan arranged for horsing them from the farms of the country or the haulers and other firms using horses. At the present time a more formidable 40-pr. would be the best gun (not a cumbrous 60-pr.), and this would give ample scope to the capacity of volunteer gunners when trained to make good practice with them, for which sea and beach ranges would answer the purpose. Batteries of these guns, firing both shrapnel and explosive shells, could be conveyed in these

days to any part of the coast where a landing was expected; they could be placed in good sheltered positions in gun-pits to protect them from the fire of warships, they could sink boats, and overpower the fire of any field guns that could be brought over, and would greatly assist the Territorial forces and regular troops left at home in preventing any landing. They could be armed provisionally with the converted 15-pr., 5-inch howitzers, and 4.7-inch guns until a 40-pr. or other suitable guns can be provided. The converted 15-pr. is too heavy a gun for horse artillery. Of the 127 volunteer artillery batteries, 100 might be organized as useful and powerful position batteries; and the remaining twenty-seven as field batteries, a more manageable number to test the experiment of volunteer field artillery than the very large number proposed in the War Office scheme. This would give, allowing as usual four guns to a position battery, 400 position guns and 162 field guns, a really formidable force, the formation of which would be much less costly than that of the War Office scheme. It would be better adapted to the capabilities of volunteer artillery, and would entail far fewer difficulties in carrying out to

success.

According to Mr. Haldane's statement in the House of Commons on the 19th of April, 'the whole point was, could they train volunteer field artillery? He thought that he had shown beyond all possibility of doubt that there was a large body of most modern and experienced military opinion in favour of the proposal to include volunteer field artillery in the second line.'

With all respect to Mr. Haldane it may be said that the possibility of training volunteer field artillery is not the point, and that the critics of his scheme have made no objection to including volunteer field artillery in the second line. The real point is: Shall the main portion of an immense force of 196 volunteer batteries be converted into horse and field batteries, or shall the experiment be made with a much smaller number of such batteries? Neither Lord Roberts, Lord Denbigh, nor other critics object to twenty or thirty volunteer field batteries being included in the second line. On this point Lord Roberts said in the House of Lords (on the 18th of May):

As regarded Lord Midleton's proposal (to form twenty-one volunteer field batteries), he acquiesced in that experiment being made because he was able to imagine then, as he could imagine now, the feasibility of raising a limited number of batteries in certain selected areas, where local interest and training possibilities appeared to hold out reasonable hopes of carrying such an experiment to a fairly successful conclusion. Surely no impartially minded person could see any similarity between the experiment that was contemplated in 1901, to form twenty-one batteries in carefully selected localities as a reserve to the regular artillery, and Mr. Haldane's proposal to raise indiscriminately 182 batteries in all parts of the country, not as a reserve to the regular artillery, but to take the place of the regulars and to be the sole artillery— with the exception of eight horse artillery batteries-on which we should have to depend for the defence of this country.