SILVER MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY, 1894 . 369 
that discretion which he requires all officers to exercise in preparing 
their men for war. 1 
In the English Artillery the acceptance of these principles has been The English 
more tardy but quite as sure. If there has been no great war to teach Al ^ 1 r 1 Jf 1 ry 
the lessons which our French and German comrades have had so much ti ® e s ^; n 
cause to learn, the watchful spirit of interest displayed since 1870 in eluding re. 
this country has none the less been fruitful of results. Our own Drill flectlons - 
Regulations issued in 1893 show a just appreciation of the altered con¬ 
ditions of modern artillery fighting. The book is no longer loaded 
with a mass of detailed instructions, but is marked by a simplicity 
which is in striking contrast with previous editions of the same work. 
Based on the experience of our neighbours, and embodying all the 
latest ideas of tactical progress, the new Regulations still retain many 
of the marked and traditional characteristics of the British Artillery 
service. It only remains to apply those Regulations by constant 
practice and untiring study, remembering always that war knows no 
law, that it is impossible to lay down fixed rules in the presence of an 
enemy, and that in the words of the greatest of all masters of artillery 
tactics, “ On ne pent et on ne doit prescrire rien d’absolu 
1 “ The advantage which has been gained by the simplification of many forms is not to be nullified 
by the addition by any person of any verbal or written supplement to these Regulations, whether 
with the object of attaining increased superficial uniformity or with any other object. On the 
contrary, the latitude in instruction and application which has purposely been left is in no case to 
be materially restricted.” Stettin, June 27, 1892. William. 
