Sir Frederick Roberts, who is going to India as Commander-
in-Chief, was entertained at the Mansion House on Saturday, and made a remarkably good speech, entirely free from that party character some soldiers contrive to give even to sensible suggestions. Sir Frederick praised the Army reforms of the Last four years, and especially those orders under which a soldier can now remain in the Army or depart very much as it suits himself. He hoped to see further improvement in that direc- tion; and, moreover, a system of excusing trained men from worrying and useless duties, like attending roll-calls and petty parades. He had tried that reform in Madras ; and though officers at first disliked it, he now found that they all reported that it had never been abused. General Roberts evidently considered that the weak points of the Army —apart altogether from numbers, which is a different question —were want of mobility, and indifference to good shooting. He wished the men taught to shoot well, a sufficient number of horses to be kept for the artillery, and a transport service to be maintained always, sufficient to carry the reserves of infantry ammunition. Horses for hard work, often tropical, cannot be improvised, for they die if they are not seasoned ; and in countries without roads the indispensable transport cannot be _improvised either. Those. are,, at all events, moderate augges- .tions, and will- seem to civilians. -merely common-sense. Full - transport costs -too much; but permanent readiness, for the _transport of-ammunition ought not to ruin us.
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