[BILL 202.] COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 26 July 1875)

§ MR. HAYTER
moved, in page 14, at end of clause, to add the words— Provided always, That in case of European War, the Militia shall he liable for active or foreign service, within the limits of Europe, and 78 such liability shall he entered on their original enlistment paper. The hon. Member said, the main object of the clause was to extend the service of the Militia to Malta and Gibraltar. He proposed that the clause should be extended so as to enable the Militia to relieve the Regular troops in garrisoning Antwerp or other towns in the event of a European war. During the last great war the plan adopted was to take driblets of men from the various regiments of Militia. In three cases known to him Militia officers had obtained 100 men from Militia regiments for the Line, and obtained commissions in Line regiments as a reward. This system was very unpopular among the colonels of Militia, because they lost men at the very time when they were required for active service. The proper plan of proceeding was to call upon the entire regiments of Militia. He had received a considerable number of communications, giving the opinions of commanding officers of regiments to show that his Amendment would not militate against enlistments for Militia regiments.

§ COLONEL GILPIN
said, that was one of the most extraordinary proposals ever made, and, if the Ballot were enforced for the Militia, would place the Militia in a worse position than the Regulars, who would be enlisted voluntarily. He had regarded the Notice of the Amendment as a joke.

§ GENERAL SIR GEORGE BALFOUR
said, the resort to the Ballot in the case of the Militia was a source of difficulty when, in time of war, it was desired to send the Militia abroad. But the proposal was no doubt made by his hon. and gallant Friend to authorize the Militia to volunteer their services, of which there were many precedents in the history of the Militia. At the same time, he regretted that the Bill had not been sent to a Select Committee, as he felt persuaded that in that case a great deal of valuable information would have been obtained with respect to the Militia, and many useful alterations would then have been introduced into the present Bill based on the experience of former years, and found on record in some of the Acts which this Bill proposed to do away with.

§ COLONEL EGERTON LEIGH
thought the Militia should continue a Home force, ready to volunteer for foreign 79 service when necessity required it, without being under a contract to do so.

MR. GATHORNE HARDY
gave the utmost credit to his hon. and gallant Friend opposite for the goodness of his motive in proposing his Amendment; but he would point out that it was perfectly incongruous, and would not be in harmony with the general spirit of the clause. Its effect would be that the Militia would be absolutely compelled to serve abroad in the event of a European war, whereas they would not be liable unless they volunteered to garrison the British colonial possessions. Besides, the new system of cadres had put the Army on a different footing, and until the experiment had been tried more fully it would be injurious to adopt this Amendment.

§ MR. GOURLEY
moved an Amendment which would remove the trial of deserters from a military to a civil tribunal.

§ GENERAL SIR GEORGE BALFOUR
moved an Amendment specifying that annual Returns of Warrants, Orders, and Regulations relating to the Militia should be laid before Parliament. That provision was now the more necessary, seeing that the course now followed in respect to the Militia was entirely at variance with the practice of former times. That practice required all the Regulations connected with the Militia to form part of the Act, or Regulations were appended to the Act, so that the entire law affecting that Force was publicly known and could be referred to in one or more Acts, readily procurable by everyone. Now the law vested in the Secretary of State the fullest authority to issue Regulations and War- 80 rants dealing with every question connected with the pay, pensions, clothing, arming, drilling, organization, and officering of the Force, and unless those Regulations were annually placed before Parliament and printed, it would be very difficult for any Member or for any one outside the War Office to ascertain what were the Orders affecting this great Force. But he hoped that the Secretary of State would consider those points and cause an annual compilation of all Regulations, including the Laws to Acts of Parliament to be made and made available for purchase by all who desired to know about the Militia. He was confident that consideration would be given, and would therefore withdraw the Amendment.

§ SIR HENRY HAVELOCK
moved a new clause, enabling the Secretary of State for War to enlist from the respective Militias raised in England, Scotland, and Ireland, a number of men which should not exceed at any one time one-third part of the respective quotas of the Militia now for the time being fixed by law to be raised therein respectively. This would raise the Reserve from 30,000 to 40,000.

MR. GATHORNE HARDY
, admitting the importance of the question of the Militia Reserves, expressed a hope that he would not be called upon to adopt the proposed clause in the present Bill, but leave the matter in his hands to deal with it next Session.

§ SIR HENRY HAVELOCK
withdrew his Amendment.