We greatly regret that the Volunteer Hill, passed by the
House of Lords some three weeks ago, has not yet been passed by the Commons, and that fears are entertained as to whether it will now become law. The Government. of course, can ensure the passage of the Bill if they like to do so, and therefore if the Bill miscarries the blame ought to rest, end certainly will rest, upon them. The situation would be ridiculous if it were not so serious. Here we have some three hundred thousand drilled and efficient men, mostly in uniform provided by themselves, organized into platoons, companies, and battalions, under competent officers, In the higher command', almost all ex- Regulare, often of great distillation. These men are eager to be employed, and to undertake what we may term auxiliary military duties. At the same time, the working Generals-- that is. the soldiers, like General Smith•Dorrlen, whose words we quoted the other day, to take only one example—are exceed. ingly anxious to snake use of the Volunteers for such wo rk—sand it is not inconsiderable—as they are able to render in their spare time In facts many competent soldiers go so far as to tell us that the guarding of vulnerable points, which in the advanced stage of our preparations Is now required, literally cannot be properly carried out without the aid of the Volunteers, We cannot take the soldiers of the New Army away from their training, and therefore the work will have to be done by the help of the Volunteers or not at all.
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