GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



309 



them 60 battalions of militia and volunteers. 

 The force to be maintained when the new organ- 

 ization is perfected will comprise 155,000 regulars 

 in the United Kingdom, an army reserve of 90,000 

 men, 150,000 militia, 35,000 yeomanry, and 250,000 

 volunteers. Under the short-service system men 

 enlist in the regular army for twelve years, serv- 

 ing in the active army from three to seven years, 

 and for the remainder of the term belonging to the 

 reserve. The number of recruits enlisted in the 

 army during the year ending Nov. 30, 1899, was 

 36,636, of whom 34.9 per cent, were below stand- 

 ard height; militia recruits, 37,379. The regular 

 army on Jan. 1, 1899, was composed of 165,038 

 Englishmen, 17,285 Scotchmen, 28,358 Irishmen, 

 10,015 born in the colonies and India, 97 foreign- 

 rs, and 1,580 not reported. The strength of the 

 British army has been increased from 70,000 

 len in 1872 to 212,000 in 1897, 229,000 in 1899, 

 ind 250,000 in 1902, with a reserve of 90,000. The 

 effective strength in 1902 was not over 210,000. 

 he number of recruits in 1896 was 27,800; in 

 1897, 33,700; in 1898, when the standard was 

 lowered, 38,400; in 1899, 40,200; in 1900, when the 

 standard was lowered a second time and the war 

 stimulated enlistment, 46,700; in 1901, with the 

 still continuing, 45,100. The waste in de- 

 serters and invalids was 3,485 in 1899, and in 1900 

 it rose to 5,484 and in 1901 to 8,822. The avail- 

 ible reserves were decreased by the war from 

 51,000 at the beginning of the war to 20,000 or 

 30,000. Bounties were paid to 16,000 men in In- 

 dia to induce them to remain with the colors 

 instead of going into the reserve. To fill the 

 ranks, which at the existing rate of recruiting 

 i'ould be 50,000 men short, the Government in 

 1902 raised the pay, which w T as nominally Is. a 

 day, but actually from 8d. to 10d., to a clear 

 shilling. According to the plan adopted soldiers 

 are enlisted for three years. At the end of two 

 ears a soldier, if efficient and of good character, 

 is allowed to choose whether at the end of his 

 term of three years he will pass into the reserve 

 for nine years or whether he will serve with the 

 colors for six years longer, making eight years 

 all, and then go into the reserve for four 

 pears. These reenlisted soldiers receive Is. 6d. 

 day, except such as are not up to the average 

 shooting, who when they are reengaged only 

 et 4d. a day extra until they become efficient 

 shots, and after that the full Qd. The extra pay 

 is expected to induce 50 per cent, of the soldiers 

 to reenlist and furnish 50,000 recruits a year, 

 rhich will keep the army full and give a reserve 

 :>f r50,000 or 175,000 men. The additional cost is 

 estimated at 1,048,000 to the British and 786,- 

 30 to the Indian Government per annum. When 

 the South African War broke out the effectives 

 in the British army, exclusive of India, mit inclu- 

 ling the reserves, were 240,000 men. The regular 

 troops in South Africa, exclusive of colonial 

 roops, militia, volunteers, and yeomanry, have 

 een about 150,000. The total number landed in 

 thirty months was 230.000. of whom 220,000 came 

 from Great Britain. At the close of the war the 

 lumber drawing rations in South Africa, inclu- 

 ling army attendants, was over 300,000 men, 

 rith 243.000 horses and mules. The estimates 

 roted by Parliament for 1903, amounting to 69,- 

 510,000, provided for 420,000 men all told. The 

 srogram for 1903 included reforms in the volun- 

 eer corps in Great Britain, which must be 

 trained so as to stand in the first line of defense 

 in case of invasion if the United Kingdom is to 

 escape the necessity of conscription. Men who 

 have been trained in the volunteers for four 

 years will be allowed to go into a volunteer re- 



serve for six years on the condition that they 

 practise shooting at the range once in two years. 

 A yeomanry reserve will be created, of the 

 maximum strength of 5,000 men, who will receive 

 5 a year each and must be willing to serve 

 abroad in case the whole army reserve is mobil- 

 ized. Another yeomanry reserve, consisting of 

 men able to ride and shoot, but circumstanced 

 so that they can not go into camp for two weeks 

 every year, will be available, like the volunteer 

 preserve, for home defense. The militia, artillery, 

 and engineers will be improved and increased, 

 and a militia reserve is to be created. Militia 

 officers will be allowed to serve temporarily with 

 line regiments, and the conditions of service in 

 the regular army for officers will be changed by 

 lightening the incidental expenses that keep out 

 men of small means, improving their military 

 education, and rewarding professional work and 

 efficiency. Drill will be changed on the principle 

 that the company, not the battalion, is the prac- 

 tical unit, and companies will be drilled in rifle 

 exercises, bayonet fighting, skirmishing, and sig- 

 nal exercises for eight months of the year, while 

 unnecessary parade drill and manual and bayo- 

 net exercises will be abolished. The plan of in- 

 creasing the yeomanry by 21 regiments adopted 

 in 1901 was carried out to a great extent, two- 

 thirds of them having been raised at the end of 

 the fiscal year 1902, increasing the number of 

 men from 10,000 to 17,500. Of 8 garrison regi- 

 ments to be recruited among soldiers who had 

 served their time 5 were already formed. The 

 army-corps scheme remained in abeyance while 

 the war was still going on. Buildings and train- 

 ing grounds were being got ready, and a system 

 of decentralization and delegation of powers was 

 being introduced in the organization of the army, 

 but even the 1st army corps at Aldershot still 

 remained on paper only. The concentration 

 camps in South Africa, scandals in the purchase 

 of horses and supplies, and other matters con- 

 nected with the war gave occasion for investiga- 

 tions. In the concentration camps the military 

 authorities had to provide food, shelter, and 

 clothing for 150,000 persons outside of the army. 

 Provision had to be made, moreover, for prison- 

 ers of war in five different colonies and depend- 

 encies. The remounts and transport animals 

 shipped to South Africa consisted of 290,000 

 horses and 126,000 mules, besides 120,000 horses 

 purchased locally. 



The Navy. The British navy on Jan. 1, 1901, 

 comprised 14 first-class, 12 second-class, and 11 

 third-class battle-ships, 6 armored cruisers, 125 

 protected cruisers, 33 torpedo-gunboats and 

 others, 96 destroyers, 2 torpedo-ships, and 11 

 first-class and 71 second-class torpedo-boats. 

 There were 13 obsolete battle-ships, 10 coast-de- 

 fense vessels, and 95 third-class gunboats which 

 were not counted in the effective navy, and also 

 numerous river gunboats. Already launched, but 

 not yet ready for sea, there were 7 first-class bat- 

 tle-ships, 8 armored cruisers, and 1 destroyer. In 

 process of building or authorized to be built there 

 were 8 more first-class battle-ships, 6 armored 

 cruisers, 2 protected cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 

 4 first-class torpedo-boats. The personnel of the 

 navy, for which the estimates of the year ending 

 March 31, 1902, provided, comprised 85.323 naval 

 officers and seamen, including 3,700 boys serving 

 on the ships, 4,200 in the coast-guard, and 19.590 

 marines on sea service, 6,200 boys in training, 

 440 cadets and engineer students. 1.048 pension- 

 ers, and 1,824 others; total, 118.625, against 114,- 

 880 in 1901. The increase of 4,240 over the pre- 

 vious year included 287 officers, 1,150 seamen, 



