310 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



732 represent the funded debt, 44.941,947 the 

 capital value of terminable annuities, 8,1&J,OX>0 the 

 unfunded debt, and 4,136,163 liabilities under va- 

 rious acts of Parliament. The assets of the Govern- 

 ment were Suez Canal shares of the market value of 

 i-J-J 299,000 and 970,905 of other assets, making a 

 total of -23,269,905, besides 9,807,134 of balances 

 in bank. On April 1, 1898, the gross liabilities of 

 the treasury amounted to 638,305,000 and the fund- 

 ed debt to 585,788,000. it having been reduced 

 during the year by 1,911,000. The capital value 

 of terminable annuities was 40,553,000, the un- 

 funded debt WHS the same as the previous year, and 

 the liabilities for barracks, telephones, and other 

 special objects authorized by Parliament were 3,- 

 831,000. The total reduction of debt for the year 

 was 6.605,000. The amount of debt paid off in 

 the course of ten years has been 66,250,000. 

 In the same period the local debts have increased 

 75,850,000. 



The Army. The strength of the regular army, 

 as provided in the estimates for 1898, was 7,814 

 officers, 1,054 warrant officers, 16,233 sergeants, 

 8,788 drummers, trumpeters, etc., and 134,680 rank 

 and file ; total, 103.569 men of all ranks. The gen- 

 eral staff numbered 340 officers, with 133 noncom- 

 missioned officers and men ; army accountants, 209 ; 

 chaplains, 86 ; medical department, 596 ; veterinary 

 department, 72 ; cavalry, o51 officers, 1,281 noncom- 

 missioned officers, drummers, etc., and 11,437 men ; 

 Koyal Artillery, 1,045 officers, 2,255 noncommis- 

 sioned officers, etc., and 23,823 men ; Royal Engi- 

 neers, 595 officers, 1,283 noncommissioned officers, 

 etc., and 5,967 men ; infantry, 2,895 officers, 6,768 

 noncommissioned officers, etc., and 81,740 men ; 

 colonial corps, 208 officers, 463 noncommissioned 

 officers, etc., and 5,882 men ; departmental corps, 

 193 officers, 1,381 noncommissioned officers, etc., 

 and 3,140 men ; army service corps, 246 officers, 760 

 noncommissioned officers, etc., and 2,805 men ; 

 gunnery and musketry instructor?, military acade- 

 mies and colleges, regimental schools, and other 

 establishments, 188 officers, 559 noncommissioned 

 officers, etc., and 130 men. The number of horses 

 provided for the establishment was 15,238. These 

 figures do not include th.e British army maintained 

 in India at the expense of the Indian Government. 

 The number of troops maintained in the United 

 Kingdom in 1897 was 100,641, comprising 11.897 

 cavalry, 16,233 artillery, 5,555 engineers, and 66,90(5 

 infantry and special corps. The total effective 

 strength of the British army on Jan. 1, 1897, was re- 

 turned as 220,869 officers and men, of whom 73,272 

 were stationed in England. 3.599 in Scotland, 23,770 

 in Ireland, 4,711 in Egypt, 38,522 in the colonies, 

 and 76,995 in India. The effective strength of the 

 regular forces at home and in the colonies in 1898 

 was 143,874 ; of the army reserve, 78,142 ; of the 

 militia, 120,084; of the yeomanry, 10,184; of the 

 volunteers, 236,065; total, 588,349. Adding 76,995 

 British soldiers in India, the total fighting strength 

 <>f the nation was 665,344 trained fighting men. 

 Of 40,165 British troops in the colonies in 1897, 

 10.628 were stationed at Malta, 5.40i at Gibraltar, 

 6.447 in Cape Colony and Natal, 1,971 in Bermuda, 

 'T!) in Jamaica, Barbadoes, and St. Lncia, 1,784 at 



Helena. 



In time of war dispositions are made for the for- 

 mation of two army corps for service outside of the 

 British Islands, having a total strength of 2,310 

 officers and 70.182 men, with 20,236 horses, 128 field 

 guns, and 28 revolver cannon ; a division of cavalry, 

 numbering 327 officers and 6,701 men. with 6,676 

 horses, 12 field pieces, and 6 revolver cannon ; and a 



reserve force consisting of 448 officers and 11,394 

 men, with 3,241 horses, 12 pieces of artillery, and 8 

 revolver cannon. 1?or the defense of the country 

 garrison and fortress troops can be taken from the 

 militia and volunteers, and three army corps can be 

 formed, besides which there are 22 infantry brigades 

 of volunteers for field service and 4 brigades of cav- 

 alry, not counting unallotted units available for 

 garrison service. Great Britain and Ireland are 

 divided into 14 military districts, and these into 102 

 subdistricts for the infantry, organized in linked 

 battalions, one of which is usually serving abroad, 

 while the other is garrisoned somewhere in the 

 United Kingdom. The militia and volunteer in- 

 fantry of each subdistrict are under the command 

 of the same colonel as the brigade of infantry of 

 the line. For the artillery there are 12 subdistricts, 

 and for the infantry there are 2, commanded by 

 colonels of artillery and of cavalry. 



The total number of all ranks of the regular army 

 on Dec. 31, 1897, was 221,487, showing an increase 

 over the previous year of only 618, although the 

 augmentation authorized was 3,136. In the session 

 of 1897 an increase of 7,879 was sanctioned, but of 

 these little more than one third were obtained. In 

 1898 the Government asked for an increase of 25,000 

 men, the drain on the army to garrison the new ter- 

 ritories and fight in the small wars going on at the 

 edges of the expanding British Empire having 

 disturbed the equilibrium of the linked battalion 

 system, according to which every battalion serving 

 abroad must be supported by a battalion at home. 

 In recent years some line regiments have both bat- 

 talions serving abroad, and in the case of many 

 others the home battalion is a mere school for raw 

 recruits, deficient in numbers, stamina, age, and 

 training. To attract recruits the pay of the soldier 

 was raised 3d. a day for the long-service troops and 

 a limited number were to be engaged for three 

 years only. Of the additional troops a part were to 

 be formed into 6 new battalions and each of the 

 home battalions was to be strengthened by the ad- 

 dition of 80 men. ' Two army corps were supposed 

 to be ready to embark in 1898, and a thivd corps 

 was being formed, but lacked still the necessary 

 field artillery. The intended increase will bring 

 the regular troops up to 132,453 and the reserves up 

 to 83,000, making, with the yeomanry, military, and 

 volunteers, the total military forces maintained at 

 home over 637,000 men. The first-class reserve on 

 Jan. 1, 1898, numbered 82,005 men ; the militia, 

 105,531 ; the militia reserve, 29,961. 



The Navy. The British navy at the beginning 

 of 1898 consisted of 30 first-class, 7 second-class 

 and 21 third-class battle ships, 14 coast-defense 

 vessels, 9 armored cruisers, 9 first-class and M 

 smaller cruisers, 19 lookout ships, 34 torpedo gun- 

 boats, 79 destroyers, and 55 first-class. 4 second- 

 class, and 20 third-class torpedo boats. There wont 

 under construction 8 first-class battle ships, 4 ar- 

 mored cruisers, 5 first-class and 14 smaller pro 

 tected cruisers, and 13 destroyers. The "Majestic." 

 " Magnificent." " Victorious," and " Prince George " 

 are the latest type of battle ship, having a displace- 

 ment, of 14,900 tons, 14 inches of Harveyized armor 

 over the vital parts, engines of 12,000 horse power. 

 designed to make 18 knots, and an armament of 

 4 12-inch guns mounted in barbette emplacements, 

 with 12 6-inch and 28 smaller quick-firers. Tho 

 "Mars," "Illustrious," "Jupiter," "Hannibal," and 

 "Cipsar," of the same class, have been begun, and 

 three others are on the programme of Lord Spen- 

 cer that was adopted in 1889. The barbettes of tins 

 " Majestic " class are strongly armored, and th'5 

 heavy guns, which are mounted in pairs, can li 1 

 loaded either by hand or by hydraulic power. Th<3 

 three new ones will have water-tube boilers, and 



