THE MILITIA OF ENGLAND, CANADA, 
 AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. 
 
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THK MILITIA OF ENGLAND, CANADA, 
 AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 To THE Editor, 
 
 SiH. — Tlic j)resent crisis is naturnlly dnnv- 
 inir consi<lerai)le attention to our army, and 
 sonu' autliorilic's do not liesitato to aver tliat 
 the demands on tliis iirmv are sucli as to 
 preclude our going to war. We cannot a<j^ree 
 in this, hut at tlie same lime some steps miulit 
 he attemnted 1)V our Ministers of War and 
 the Colonies to Fee to what extent the (Go- 
 vernments of Canada, Australia, and Xew 
 Zealand could assist to relieve th(» situation 
 which, to a <i;reat extent, hampers our mili- 
 tary power. 
 
 In a few words, the situation is this. We 
 have, on the one hand, a lari>e Knulish Armv 
 of G2,000 men in India, which cannot leave 
 tliat country for fear of a rising of the natives 
 arici an irru]»tion on the North-West Frontier; 
 and, on the other hand, a jNIilitia .Vrmy of 
 115.<KM) men, none of whom can be ordered 
 out of England to suppoit the Empire when 
 liard pressed. 
 
That tills <l('M(ll()('k will liavo to Ix' relieved 
 before long is plain, and we are glad to tlnnk 
 that it can be brought about without any 
 ])artieular strain or great ex])ensc. 
 
 We — that is, England, Canada, Australia 
 and New Zealand— are in possession of a 
 magnificent Eni])ire, on which the sun never 
 sets. One of us cannot fall without a grie- 
 vous and fatal injury to the whole. The 
 time has clear! v come when this tact sliould 
 be fairly faced. We are, all four, aj)t to 
 become absorbed in the anxieties and political 
 disimtes ever i^oinu; on in each country. 
 We must no longo]' scan the British Em])ire 
 through insular spectacles, but taking a wide 
 and imj)ei-ial view of the situation, make 
 siu'h, as we think, simple arrangements as will 
 secure the nuitual help so urgently wanted. 
 
 We therefore suggest that, without in any 
 wav interfering with the Volunteer forces 
 existing in England, Canada, Australia and 
 New Zealand, which should be maintained in 
 as high a state of efficiency as possible, 
 the Militia of the four nations should be 
 made " active " — that is, liable to do garrison 
 duty abroad whenever the ^roubles now be- 
 
8 
 
 ginning in the world render the eoncentiation 
 of the British Army iniperntive. 
 
 The Militia Arniv at home consists of 128 
 regiments of Infantry and 82 regiments of 
 Artillery. It is ])rol)al)le tliat many of these 
 regiments wonld volnntcer, if called on, for 
 the "active" list. 
 
 The term of fcn^eign service could he limited 
 to one or two vears, with a honntv on em- 
 harkation and a year's pension on return. 
 
 As a mark of esteem for their readiness to 
 serve their countr}', the officers of the 
 •' active " Militia should be permitted to wear 
 i;-old lace. 
 
 Great care lias been taken in the arransre- 
 ments for the m()])ilisation of tlie forces at 
 home, it should therefore he arranged that no 
 gap should occur. All our " active " Militia 
 regiments should be linked with Canadian 
 regiments, which had volunteered for garri- 
 
 son dutv in Kptrland. 
 
 »-' ~ 
 
 Turning to our garrison arm v, we find that 
 the East Kent Regiment of Militia has its 
 station at Dover. Sliould this reuiinent come 
 on the *' active " list and be })laced under 
 orders for embarkation, the Canadian regi- 
 
iiieiit linked witli it — say, the r)tli Rovjil 
 Fusiliers of Montronl could bo sent to Dover. 
 
 The Caiindinn Militiji consists of the active 
 Militia and the reserve ^lilitia. Tiie forniei* 
 has not as jet been called on to Volunteer 
 for duty in Knulaiul, but there can be no 
 doubt that many rei'inients would do so. Sir 
 Edward Selby Smyth, K.C.M.(jr.,connnandino- 
 the Douiinion Militia, says in his rej)ort of 
 1S7() :— 
 
 *' There is a great military s])irit among all 
 classes of the population <^f (\unada, which 
 would ensure immense eliorts and sjicritices in 
 the event of alarm or api)rehension ofdanii,er. 
 Itliasbeen frequently exhibited, ami itishardly 
 necessary for me to brinic it .'luain to notice 
 so j)rominently except with the view of add- 
 ing that, tiiven that valuable element of 
 zealous jjatriotisni, it should ])e cultivated and 
 encouraged in every ])ossible \vay to serve 
 the country elUciently, if ever suddeidy 
 required to be called into action.'* 
 
 All who value tlie integrity of our Empire 
 will rejoice at these words. They come from 
 an authority which cannot be gainsaid, and 
 open the door for those advances towards our 
 
^^rcat eolonii's, wliicli alone are wanting to 
 |)iit us in a jnoper inilitary position before 
 the world. 
 
 The active !Militia of ten out of twelve 
 districts in Canada were called out for train- 
 ing in 1H7G. This foice consisted of five 
 regiments of cavalrv, lilteen field batteries, 
 forty garrison batteries, and ninety battalions 
 of infantry. 
 
 ( )wing to want of money tliese regiments 
 were much below tlieir strength. Sliould, 
 however, any of tlum vcdunteer for duty in 
 England, tluy would receive such attention 
 as would en.snre their making a fine aj)jH>ar- 
 ance in England, where the stalwart soiis of 
 Canada would be certain of a hearty reception. 
 The Canadian fiehl batteries, under the 
 inspection of that able and scientific cflicer, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel T. B. Strange, I]. A., are 
 in an advanced stage of discipline for 
 Militia Artillery. The reserve Militip con- 
 sists of the enormous nund)er of COOjOCO 
 enrolled men, every man of whom must turn 
 out when called on, accoiding to the law o< 
 the country. 
 
 Of course this prodigious force is not 
 
f) 
 
 ;irino(l or C(|ui|)i>0(l, as there is no neeessity 
 for so (loin''- ; hut the CniiiidiaiH <l(Merve 
 greiit credit (or the example of vigour tliey 
 liave set in ])nssin2: such a law. 
 
 [n Australia there arc inuuerous Volujiteer 
 corps, hut it iH now in eonteniplation to 
 raise a Militia foree in that country. It is, 
 therefore, exeeeilinuly o|)|)()rtune to call on the 
 people of Australia and New Zealand to con- 
 sider the situation earefullv. It is our ha])it 
 at home to talk onlv of our communications 
 with Iinlia /vW the Suez Canal : this is caused 
 hv the continued use (d' those insular spec- 
 tacles we want so nuich to sec aholished. 
 Australia and New Ze.iland arc as (lee[)ly 
 interested in the Siu-z Canal as we are, 
 and we i'eel convinced that were thev onlv 
 j)repared. they woidd not permit these [)eace" 
 ful conmuinications to he attacked or 
 menaced even. Socmer than see anv danii'er 
 to the Imperial Power from distiu-h.nices in 
 India thev would i>'arris')n Madras, Calcutta, 
 Singapore, and even Flong Kong. We ref^uest 
 the Press in Australia and New Zealand to 
 consider these views ; the occasion is urgent, 
 and tlie ( iovernments of the various colonies 
 
will iuhmI julvict' ill the t'onnatioii ot' an active 
 Militia. That the spirit exists is plain ; the 
 Mayor of Auckland has written to the Lord 
 Mavor of Lon(h)n that thev will not sit .still 
 in his country should Imperial interests be 
 attacked. 
 
 Althongli the position of England and 
 India in the world is strategically weak, we 
 are exceedingly fortunate in having young, 
 loyal, and enter[)rising nations on our flanks. 
 The time, we hope, is c()mini>: when thev will 
 become a stay and support to the old country. 
 
 Should the arrangements we advocate be 
 carried out, a great portion of (mr Uegular 
 Army of 200,000 men would be free to con- 
 centrate with a j)owerful native army where 
 nu)st re(piired. In fact, one point oidy 
 wouhl remain to make us a military nation, 
 aiul that is, a considerable increase in the 
 field batteries of the Uoyal Artillery to be 
 in full [)roportion to the mas.ses of Intantry 
 we could put in the Held. 
 
 To crive full freedom to an " active " Militia 
 will re([uire <t more careful organisation of 
 our great Volunteer arm v. The three ser- 
 vices of the Regular, ?.Tilitia, and Volunteer 
 
8 
 
 jirmics of England and lier colonics are 
 dependent upon each other's efficiency. No 
 one branch can be neglected without crip- 
 j)ling the freedom of action of the others. 
 
 During the Crimean War, England raised 
 two foreign legions, one German and one; 
 Italian. This proceeding cannot now be 
 re])eated, Germans and Italians are wanted 
 to do their own fiahtino". It is therefore a 
 jrrowino- necessity in time of dancer to the 
 Ih'itish Empire, to fall back on the good old 
 constitutional force of Militia so suitable to 
 the genius of the Anglo-Saxon race, to say 
 nothing of its being taken up and laid aside 
 at pleasure. The Militia of England i)lays 
 a prominent part in our history. The armies 
 of Edward the IJI., which shattered the 
 chivalry of Erance, were Militia. It is true 
 they were trained to shoot with the bow, but 
 so can the Militia be now with their rifles. 
 The battles of the A\'ars of the Hoses were 
 Ibught by Militia troops. 
 
 Burgoyne with his regulars, Hessians and 
 Indians, had to surrender at Saratoga to the 
 ^lilitia of the English Colonists in America. 
 Numbers of Militiamen, fresh from their 
 
9 
 
 regiments, .swelled the nniks of our iiitinitry 
 at the battle of Waterloo, and lastly, the 
 terrible l)attles of the Wilderness round 
 lliehniond, were fought out to the bitter end 
 by A-iilitia troo])s. 
 
 The population of the English Colonies in 
 America, when they were driven into a 
 separation from the Mother Country, was 
 only 2,000,000. That of Australia is now 
 2,500,000, with a trade of £80,000,000, 
 e(|ual, as a wrltei' has lately said, to the 
 commerce of Eimland at tlie commencement 
 of this centurv, when she foiled united 
 Europe in its confederacy against her. Her 
 l)oun(lless pastures are occu])ied by 52,000,000 
 sheep and 3,000,000 cattle. These ligures 
 prove that this is no nuisluooni growth of a 
 tiansient nature. Sir Hercules llobinson. the 
 (iovernor of New South A\'ales, calculates 
 that at the end of this centurv Australia will 
 have a population of 5,00(^,000 and in 11)50, 
 ;>1,000,000. The City of Melbourne is one 
 of the nujst beautiful in the world, and con- 
 tains over 260,000 inha))itants. 
 
 New Zealand is also rapidly increasing in 
 
l(> 
 
 wealth and po])iilation, and lias a splendid 
 future in pr()S|)ect. W(i do not, therefore, 
 think the jn'oposal an extravagant one, that 
 as a connnenceinent New Zealand should 
 raise two regiments of active Militia, Queens- 
 land tAVO, New South Wales four, Victoria 
 four, and South Australia two reuinients. If 
 these fourteen reoiments were carefully 
 trained and kept up to the strength of 1,000 
 men each, England would gladly pay for their 
 services for garrison duty in the east, when 
 compelled to concentrate some of her regular 
 infantry elsewhere. 
 
 Sucii arrangements, supported by English 
 Militia regiments, would strengthen our posi- 
 tion in India. The natives throughout that 
 coimtry would be quickly informed that 
 another great English power had suddenly 
 appeared on the stage in the east, and that 
 rebellion, anarcliv, and bloodshed ^vere further 
 off than ever. 
 
 It is argued that some of our Colonies do 
 not even attend ])roperly to their means of de- 
 fence. In one the money necessary is with- 
 held by ])olitical scpiabbles ; in another, s(> 
 nuu'h has been spent on lailways that none 
 
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 it'inniiis for dt'tciisive purposes. Wv fear this 
 is too true, and that our kinsmen are (Iwelling 
 carelessly. We apj)eal to their honour, and 
 warn them to be up and doing, and to ({uit 
 themselves like men. 
 
 There can be no surer wav of consolidatins: 
 the ])0Nver of the British Empire, than by 
 leadinii; the vouno; nations of Canada, 
 Australia and New Zealand, to join in its 
 trials and struii'2:les, as well as in its I'lories, 
 and it is because the subject has never been 
 laid before them that we have asked you. Sir, 
 to ])ublish this letter in your important 
 Military Journal. 
 
 C, M. G. & P. 
 
 Armv and Xavv Club, 
 
 FchrKorfj VHIi, 1878. 
 
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