TOPICS OF THE DAY.
ARTISAN RIFLE CORPS.
THE lively discussion on the best mode of obtaining the military services of the artisans of England may help to clear the ground, and lead to the appreciation of the proper method of accomplishing the end in view. But as yet, except here and there, the strictly constitutional and practicable mode of doing this does not seem to have been perceived by any of the disputants. The true solu- tion of the question is not to be found in the gratification of the feelings of any section of the community, but in the establishment of the Militia upon a proper footing. The plans of Lord Elcho, Sir John Shelley, Colonel Ricks, and others are therefore quite beside the real object ; and, are incompatible with any sound system of military policy.
What we require is a defensive force so strong as to do more than defy invasion—to make it impossible. The best mode of effecting this would be, some think, by hiring a sufficient number of persons to become professional soldiers. Happily, the temper of the nation will not permit our rulers to have recourse to a sys- tem not in accord with true manliness and rational freedom. We cannot have a large standing army. What then ? The old prac- tiee of the English nation—that which we now call constitu- tional—is to provide for the defence of the country in a very great degree by a force of citizen-soldiers. The Militia is the genuine armed force for the defence of England; the regular Army is more appropriately applied to the defence of our colonies and dependencies ; and its numerical strength, taking into ac- count reliefs which form a home garrison, should be proportionate to the necessities of. the outlying portions of the empire. Our characteristic force, the Navy, enables us to dispense with a vast array of regular soldiers for home defence. The comparative smallness of our standing Army makes it possible to fill its ranks without having recourse to a conscription, while an outlet is pro- vided for those who prefer a soldier's life and an adventurous career. But these are insufficient for the security of the king- dom, and we are bound to obtain an ample force from other classes of the community. From those other classes we would draw at once—first, a national Militia, next, an army of Volunteers. These three kinds of force enable every class in the community to take a share in the de- fence of the country. Those who will not enlist in the Line, and cannot join the Volunteers, should find a place in the Militia ; and those who are not able to join the Voluntaera, and who are too volatile for the Militia, should find a place in the Line. And those who would not serve either in the Militia or the Line, should join the Volunteers.
The regular soldier gives up the whole of his time—his health, his life, his energies to the State ; and he is paid, fed, lodged, and clothed for so doing. The Militiaman gives up a part of his time and a portion of his energies to the State, and he receives a fragmentary compensation. The Volunteer gives up a portion of his time and energies to the State, and instead of being paid, he defrays the expense attendant on his military employment, and thus contributes, in addition to his share of the general taxation, time, money, and energies to the defence of the nation. The es- sence of volunteering is that the bulk of the expense should fall on the Volunteer. And it is right that this should be so. For- merly the richer portion of the community were liable to be drawn for the Militia, and they escaped by paying for substitutes. Relieved from that liability by the practical abolition of the bal- lot, they are enabled by volunteering to fulfil their duty to the State in. Now the working classes are equally relieved of
the liabrjer°1:4 serve by the non-enforcement of the ballot, but their duty to their country remains the same. They are morally
bound to aid in its defence, and to fit themselves by training to make that defence effective. At the same time, it is incumbent on the Government to devise conditions of service, that shall be compatible with the feelings and occupations of the bulk of the community. In other words, it is incumbent on the Government to frame a Militia law which will meet the case of those who, from love of a settled life will not enter the Army, and who, from considerations of expense, cannot join a Volunteer company or battalion.
.And this might easily be done were the prejudices of certain ancient statesmen overcome. For instance, Militia regiments might be raised on the Volunteer plan. The State might find arms, uniform, accoutrements. The Militiaman might be attested to serve a limited period, say live years. He might receive a small bounty on entering the service, payable periodically. It might be distinctly arranged that he should not be called out for actual service except in cases of great emergency, such as a dis- aster in war, or a menace of invasion. Then it might be so con- trived that a Militiaman could take his drill just as the Volunteer does, when he can, and in bodies small or large as might happen to be convenient. In addition to this voluntary drill, it would be necessary to call out the regiment for a week to put the profi- ciency of the men to the test, and power might be given to detain. for a month all those who had not attended a sufficient number of voltuitary drills to enable them to do the duty of soldiers. Of course during the week of embodiment the men must be paid. The element of Volunteer drill would put new life into the Mi- litia, and do more towards the adequate training of the regiments
than the mere periodic calling out for twenty-eight days. By these means, and these alone, can the working classes be enabled to take
a share in thedefeneeoftheoeuntry beyond that they take now by filling the ranks of the Line and the existing military substitute for the proper British Militia. Depend upon it the working classes will never be able to enter the Volunteer battalions as at present constituted ; and to pull these about, alter their uniforms, interfere with their management, and attempt any unnatural levelling operation in order to admit some few hundreds of the working classes, will be to commence the work of destroying the whole institution. Either the State must exact military service from all male adults, not infirm, or it must accept of voluntary service. The country would not submit to a conscription, nor to the American plan. The only alternative is a compromise— voluntary organization for those who put the State to no expense; semi-voluntary organization for those who literally have not the means of wholly serving the State free of expense ; and honour- able military servitude for the regular soldier who is taken wholly into the pay of the State. The natural arrangements of society dictate, therefore, three_ kinds of forces—the Regular Army, the Militia, and the Volun- teers. Any attempt to evade this arrangement by artificial con- trivances, and ingenious devices, will fail. The alternative is a compulsory military organization of the adult male population exclusive of those in the Standing Army.
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