§ Then, there is a particular body of men in the Army whom, I believe, we shall greatly benefit by our proposals. I mean the men who marry off the strength. The case of such men at present is often deplorable. They marry perhaps a few months before the time they could marry on the strength and 387 receive its accompanying advantages. Probably a married man off the strength will allow his wife only 6d. a day at present. In future he will be in a position to allow her 1s. 2d. That in itself is a material amelioration of the lot of some of the best class of soldiers we have. After all, the net result will be that a man who joins the Army at 18 will at the age of 20 have 10s. 6d. in his pocket to spend at the end of the week. I believe the number of labourers, and even artisans, in many classes of life, who, after having lodged, clothed, and housed themselves, have 10s. 6d. to spend on a Saturday night, is not so very large.
§ * SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean)Do you propose to touch the question of the food?
§ * MR. BRODRICKNo; I am not touching the question of the food on the present occasion. Now, Sir, there are two great results which we expect from our measures. The first is the improvement of recruiting, and the second is the effect on the material. With regard to recruiting, it is obvious that we should want a larger body of recruits, as they will not all remain for eight years. We calculate that to keep up the Army to its present level we shall want 50,000 recruits under the new system. We calculate that on a moderate assumption halt of those recruits will at the end of the two years elect to serve for eight years. I call that estimate moderate, because in the Foot Guards, where there has been no inducement offered to re-engage—where there has been rather the inducement not to re-engage of good employment being offered to men when they had completed their engagement—we find that about 30 per cent., taking one year with another, of the men who complete their three years re-engage. We expect that in the case of the line the re-engagements will equal 50 per cent. under the improved conditions. If our estimate turns out to be correct, and we get, as we expect to do, 50,000 recruits or thereabouts, we shall be able to keep the Army full, and we shall have a reserve which will work up, not to 80,000 or 90,000 as at present, but, if we desire it, to 150,000 or 175,000 men.
As to the time the increase of pay 388 will come into operation, the 2d. per day additional will be given on April 1st next. to every soldier entitled to messing allowance who has passed his recruit drill and is nineteen years of age. The 6d. per day additional will come into operation on April 1st, 1904, which is the first day the recruits who are now joining will be entitled to receive it. From that date it will be given in the whole Army to any man who consents to complete eight years with the colours. Some of the men have engaged for seven years; they will have to engage to serve an extra year to get the additional 6d. We propose also to make a further concession, viz., to give to each regiment an increase number of "lance" ranks. We propose to give them a considerably increased number of lance sergeants and lance-corporals, and I think every military man in the House will recognise the advantage of that proposal.