Lord Lansdowne made a statement in the House of Lords
on Tuesday with regard to the training of the Yeomanry this year. The main feature of the projected arrangement, which the Secretary of War was careful to describe as of an emergency character, is the establishment, in lieu of the ordinary training, of special camps of instruction—within easy access of the regiments concerned and also of rifle ranges —which the Yeomanry would be invited to attend. The camps will last twenty-eight days. Each Yeoman attending will be allowed £5 on producing a suitable horse, and the con- tingent allowance paid to the corps will be raised from £3 to £5. These concessions, however, depend (1) on 50 per cent. of the corps attending, (2) on each man putting in a minimum of fourteen days' attendance and going through a special musketry course. The main object of the camps would be practice in dismounted and outpost duties, only a few days
being devoted to light cavalry training. Lord Lansdowne, who disclaimed all intention to lay hands rashly on the Yeomanry, declared that the War Office would wait for the experience gained from the service of the Yeomanry in South Africa, and welcome the suggestions of officers on their return. He would shortly make a separate statement about the Volunteers, with whom they proposed to deal in an analogous manner, and announced that it had been decided to appoint an Inspector-General of Auxiliary Forces, who would hence- forth be distinct from the Inspector-General of Recruiting.
Previous page
