VISCOUNT ST. VINCENTasked the Under Secretary of State for War, Whether, in view of recent experience, it is proposed to take any steps to inquire into the advisability of giving officers in command of some of our Line battalions an opportunity of having a small proportion of their men taught, in peace, the work that, as Mounted Infantry, they would have to do in war. The utility of Mounted Infantry in the general operations of war had been proved by the experience of the late campaigns, which showed that the services rendered by them could not lo performed either 1468 by Infantry or Cavalry. He might remind the House that the Boers of the Transvaal were a fine example—probably the finest in the world—of Mounted Infantry. We could not expect so much from our own Infantry, who could not be constantly in the saddle as the Boers were; but it was to be hoped that something more than an inconsiderable fraction of our men might be formed into an efficient force of Mounted Infantry by proper training in time of peace.
§ LORD CHELMSFORDsaid, he regretted that the House was so thinly attended when a question was being discussed to which recent wars had given importance and prominence. Considering that Mounted Infantry was a recognized arm in modern warfare, it could not be right that England should not possess a body of mounted men trained at home and capable of being despatched on foreign service at short notice. He hoped to hear from the noble Earl the Under Secretary of State for War that the subject was being considered by the War Office, and that it was intended to give systematic instruction in the duties of a Mounted Infantry soldier. In his opinion, however, it was not desirable to give this instruction to mere recruits, but to train for this purpose men of at least three years' service, after making them expert marksmen. It would be useless, he thought, only to have a depot; but if 60 or 80 Mounted Infantry could be permanently stationed at, say Aldershot, to take part in all the manœuvres there, there would be opportunities for developing that nucleus into a really efficient Force.
THE EARL OF MORLEYsaid, he shared in the regret expressed by the noble and gallant Lord who had just sat down, at the small attendance of noble Lords interested in this question. The employment of Mounted Infantry was a subject on which the noble and gallant Viscount (Viscount St. Vincent), from his experience in more than one campaign, was peculiarly qualified to express an opinion. It was generally admitted to be undesirable to keep up permanently a body of Mounted Infantry in this country, because such a force would inevitably, sooner or later, be turned into Cavalry. Some such scheme as that of the noble and gallant Viscount, which would probably have a better result, had for some time been under the considera- 1469 tion of the authorities, and arrangements had been made for the equipment of such a Corps when it was needed. He could only assure the House that the authorities were quite alive to the importance of the subject, the services performed by Mounted Infantry in South Africa having brought the whole question prominently before their notice.