§ MR. O'REILLY, in rising to move—
That, in the opinion of this House, to place the country in a state of permanent security it is necessary to establish our military system on the basis of recognizing the obligation of all citizens to defend their country, and of fitting them by training for the discharge of their duty,said, when the Secretary of State for War introduced the Army Regulation Bill, he stated that three questions had engaged the attention of Government—the abolition of purchase, the connection of the Militia with the Line, and compulsory service. On the two first he had entered very fully, but on the third—that of compulsory service—he had dwelt very little. His right hon. Friend merely argued that compulsory service was unnecessary in ordinary circumstances, and ought not to be resorted to, because voluntary enlistment had hitherto worked well. Now, it was not unnecessary in his (Mr. O'Reilly's) opinion in considering national defence, 66 and hence it was that he now wished to challenge the sense of the House on the subject. In order to test whether the proposals of the Government were adequate, he would seek no better authority than the right hon. Gentleman himself. The key of the whole problem was the question of Reserves. It was admitted on all hands that an ample Reserve force is not only necessary to, but the very foundation of, a satisfactory system of national defences. Reserve forces must be divided into two classes, the first being reserves of troops to supply the place of battalions, brigades, or divisions which had been so reduced as to be no longer able to hold their position; and the second, reserves of men to raise the ranks from the peace to the war establishment, and then to maintain them on the last-named footing by supplying the waste of war. This second class of reserves he took to be of far greater importance to the State than the first. What he wanted to know was not the number of men we had "in the Estimates," but what we had in fact. The number of men that the Government estimated we should ultimately have in the Reserve was 179,000 men; and it was calculated that of the 32,000 recruits required yearly to keep our Army at its proper standard, 15,000 would be three-years'-service men. But, he would ask, how far were we likely to get the number of short-service men so estimated? The Report of the Inspector General of Recruiting showed that the majority of the men who presented themselves for enlistment looked forward to a pension, and preferred not to join for the short period service, although everything had been done to explain the relative advantages of the two periods of service. Then, in answer to a Circular, the Secretary for War had ascertained that out of 180,000 troops, the well-conducted men who elected to join the Reserve were only between 3,000 and 4,000. A Return he had for five months showed that the recruits for long service were 12,000, as against 2,500 for short service. The highest number for short service was obtained in December; and if that maximum were kept up throughout the year it would give us 9,600 a-year, and ultimately 90,000 of a Reserve, instead of the 179,000 calculated upon by the Government. It might be that ultimately the relative proportions would 67 be altered; but, at present, there was I no such prospect. But the Report, too, showed that the men enlisted were, for the most part, in their 18th year, and averaged 10 stone in weight. This showed that they were drawn from the usual source from which recruits were taken, that they were rather weak lads, under-fed, and from the necessitous portion of the population, so that the prospect of recruiting from a hitherto untouched stratum of the population had not been realized. As to the Militia, it was a reserve body of troops, but not a reserve of men. He regretted that the Secretary of State for War had not adopted General Peel's suggestion; for he was sure that a great number of the Militia would volunteer for the Line, and Government would thus be saved the scandal of applying to the Militia when the hour of danger arrived. The Volunteers were broken up into small bodies, very few of which consisted of battalions of more than 800 men; and if such corps as the London Scottish and the London Irish—who would fight, no doubt, as their countrymen had always fought — went into action, where were the reserves to supply their ranks? There was one other Reserve in the Government plan—the emergency Ballot—which he looked upon as perfectly useless, however much he approved of it as recognizing the principle that each man was liable to defend his country.
§ Notice taken, that 40 Members were not present; House counted, and 40 Members not being present,
§ House adjourned at a quarter before Eight o'clock.