53 
“RECRUITING-.” 
BY 
H. 0. ARNOLD-FORSTER, ESQ., M.P. 
(A Lecture delivered at the Loyal Artillery Institution, Woolwich, 16th December, 1897. 
Major-General J. F. Maurice, C.B., in the Chair, 
THE CHAIRMAN—Ladies and Gentleman, I do not think I have 
any occasion to introduce to you Mr. Arnold-Forster, whose name is 
familiar to you all (applause). Whatever differences of opinion may 
exist with regard to some of the points which he may bring before us, 
we are all very much indebted for the efforts he has made to draw the 
attention of the country to the necessities of putting the army on a 
proper footing (hear, hear, and applause). 
Introductory. 
MR. ARNOLD-FORSTER—General Maurice, ladies and gentle¬ 
men. I admit that I am in an anomalous situation in the presence of 
a military society, and my ordinary attitude in the presence of soldiers 
up to the present time has been one of observation, and my endeavour 
has been to learn—not to attempt to teach—in the hope that I might 
avail myself of opportunities which I occasionally have of correctly 
imparting the opinion of soldiers to the great civilian class of which I 
am a member. On a previous occasion your secretary was kind 
enough to do me the honour of asking me to speak before this society, 
and I recollect that he invited me to address you on the subject of 
guns. I also recollect writing to him in reply that it seemed to me 
somewhat like an invitation to a layman to address the House of 
Convocation on the Athanasian Creed, and that the idea of addressing 
an audience in Woolwich on the question of guns was even beyond my 
ambition, or my conceptions of what it would be justifiable for me to 
attempt. But the subject you have asked me to speak about to-night 
is a different one, and for reasons which I think I can establish, 
it is one to which I feel entitled to invite your attention. I may say 
with regard to our chairman here, who has done me the great honour 
of presiding, that I hope he will not feel that he has, so to speak, 
to shepherd too bad a subject, and that such a doubtful character 
as I am, having ventured to criticise military institutions, ought not 
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