We have before us a Return compiled from figures furnished
by commanding officers which shows more fully than did the figures given by " Volunteer Field Officer " in the Spectator last April the number of Volunteers who offered to serve in South Africa, and of those who were actually allowed to go out, whether as Volunteers or in other corps. The results are most remarkable. They prove that out of the 204,000 on the rolls in 1899, no less than 71,758 men volunteered for foreign service, and that 29,040 actually fought oversea. When it is remembered that no general appeal was made by thee Government to the Volunteers, and that only the services of one Volunteer company from each battalion were accepted, the patriotism and soldierly spirit shown by the force must be acknowledged to be worthy of the highest praise. We may feel certain that if the Government had encouraged, instead of trying to check, the enthusiasm of the Volunteers, not thirty- five, but fifty per cent. of the men would have volunteered.
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