§ Passing away from that subject, I must ask the House to allow me to say a few words about the present condition of the Volunteers. I do not wish to express at any length what I believe we all feel as to the merits of the Volunteers. I yield to no man in my appreciation of the efforts of the Volunteers. We have tested a considerable number of them in South Africa—the first time our Volunteers have been on active service—and they have borne the ordeal well, and have been well reported of wherever they have been employed. I know there is no more certain watt compass popularity in this House than to say all that 11 is flattering to the Volunteers, and to 390 leave unsaid all that is unpleasant. But I hope the House will allow me to say a few words tonight which will tell them frankly what I conceive to be the truth with regard to the Volunteers. The Volunteer force must not be regarded as a whole. There are Volunteers and Volunteers—some are admirably trained and some are poorly trained. Among those who are admirably trained, there are some who are admirably trained for parade movements, but who have had very little experience of field training. I must not be told that all training depends on finances, because I find that some of the best trained regiments have their finances in the best order, and some of the worst trained regiments have their finances in the worst condition. In the worst regiments of Volunteers the War Office seems to be regarded as a sort of milch cow.
§ I have had brought before me so many cases of the kind that I must mention one or two by way of illustration to show that the finance cry is not to be accepted without examination. Some of the regiments whose accounts are in the worst order are proved to have spent money largely upon services that have nothing whatever to do with military requirements. One officer who had a serious difficulty with his General on a question of finance came up to London to discuss the matter with the Secretary of State, and we found that he charged the expenses of a very long journey and of his stay in London to the finances of his corps. There was another officer who continued to give entertainments to his corps at the expense of the corps, with all the resources of a bankrupt battalion at his back. I must say that some of the allowances given to the Volunteers specially in 1900 for the camps of that year were so liberal that there was a temptation to spend money recklessly. In the hurry of calling out the Volunteers it had been arranged that orderly sergeants should get an extra 1s. I read of one sergeant instructor who was so much in demand that he looked after the company accounts of four or five companies and drew 1s. from each, and then he so earned the admiration of h is commanding officer that he was made orderly 391 room sergeant, with another 1s. Finally, he had so much respect for his own powers that, having the right as orderly sergeant to have an orderly room assistant at 3d. a day extra, he appointed himself assistant orderly sergeant to himself, with an extra 3d. The disposition in some corps to help the corps at the expense of the War Office is so catching that I confess to the House I once fell a victim to it myself. I believe my experience is not unique, and I only give it in order to show what is the difficulty of preventing a Volunteer who is absolutely above board in everything else thinking that it is legitimate to do what he can with the War Office. I belonged for some years to a Volunteer corps, like most hon. Gentlemen in this House, and for one day 1 belonged to another corps. It was at Oxford. I thought the Oxford corps was not in a very good way, and I did not join it, but on the inspection day I got a message from the colonel, accompanied by a sergeant's uniform, asking me, as one of his sergeants was away, to fill his place for the day.
§ SIR HOWARD VINCENT (Sheffield, Central)The right hon. Gentleman does not say that that is the general practice in the Volunteer force.
§ * MR. BRODRICKI am not speaking generally of the Volunteer force or of my hon. friend's corps. When, however, I arrived on the ground, duly arrayed, and quite unaware of the fraud I was perpetrating, I was asked to take command of a Company, which I did in a sergeant's uniform. I do not know whether my words of command were right or not, because the Company were talking so loudly throughout the parade that they were not much the wiser for the words of command; but I walked away with the thanks of that colonel, perfectly unaware that I had earned £2 10s. fraudulently from the Government for the corps. I have always thought that, if my right hon. friend wants conscience money, he will know where to apply for it! But if my hon. friend were to press me, I should have to tell him in regard to the third class firing that we insisted on some years ago for a man to become proficient 392 that I have sent for some of the records of shooting at different times, and I am bound to say that in some instances the improvement in shooting at the last range when a man was a little short of the chance of getting through was very exceptional. I fear there are instances in which the sergeant has been so accommodating as to take the rifle in order to avoid the loss to the corps which would accrue. I am not saying that such cases are general in Volunteer corps. Do not let it be supposed for one moment that I am throwing stones at the Volunteer force. But I say there are exceptional cases that we cannot accept.