Lord Sandhurst on Monday brought up the question of recruiting.
His speech was rather discursive, but its chief thought was this. We are obliged to accept recruits so young, that it takes two years to make them fit for service. That did not matter with the old system of long service, but it does matter with short service, half our soldiers now beie„, mere boys. He would therefore abolish recruiting for the Line altogether, and recruit only for the Militia, which in its. turn would supply the necessary men for the Line. That would be a sound plan if this were Prussia, but it is England, and a militiaman is no more bound to enter the Line than a recruit is. He could only be asked to volunteer, and very likely would not, being usually well employed, while the evil of too many boys would then be felt in the Militia. We must take the facts as- they are, and if we adhere to voluntary enlistment, buy men where and how we best can. The most serious result of the short service is the deficiency mentioned by the Duke of Cambridge of experienced non-commissioned officers, a deficiency it seems. impossible to meet except by offering large inducements to remain..
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