Show ON WAR preparations TUB disagreement between the british premier the marquis marqis of salisbury and lord wolseley adjutant general of the british forces is creating a stir in great britain the latter meets the assertion of the former to the effect that he had bad attacked the government with a disclaimer he merely wished to draw attention to the de fenceless condition of the country salisbury meets this with a retort to the effect that the distinguished soldier spoke over the heads of the government and consequently impaired the effective ness of its machinery the premier was right rient the corn cm of the head of f the army should have been made to the cabinet and not to the country as the declarations regarding the unsatisfactory con of the naval and military forces expose the empire to it enemies it may be said that russia and other powers must be fully informed regarding the defensive facilities of great britain and therefore no barm could come or of the expose of the situation by the head of the army but such statements of the wei weakness leikness kness of the country coming from one of the highest authorities on the subject in the world I 1 emphasizes pha sizes and endorses the information on the subject possessed by the ahe powers this might lead to an attack upon england before she could have time to put herself in a position to successfully fully resist 1 according to lord Wo lesley about the abe only question in regard to the power of an enemy to taking possession of great britain is his ability to successfully laft upon her shores a well equipped army of men well handled bandied after their feet were planted on the soil one fact upon this point is settled there are powers unfriendly to england eagland who could readily spare an army of that dimensions for the purposes of such an invasion the question to Is whether or not with the imperfect condition of british coast defenses and the admitted demoralized condition of the navy the landing could be effected if En glands interests were to be assailed in the east by the reopening of the eastern question the wedge is already inserted iaser ted and her forces were drawn off in that direction the successful landing of an invading army on the shores of great britain might not be an improbable contingency of the struggle the british are as brave a race as ever existed but courage is ilot invincible in the face of overwhelming odds during the last decade t abe great reat powers of europe have been throwing jag ger her into the shade in kultar military matters aters they the have been st straining e every ery nerve in that direction while england ng land has J aaen been in this respect in a state of semi dor dormancy maHey franceis france is close u upon on her heels even in respect to nala naval armaments tho the british lion is doubtless just awaking from his torpor and shakes his bis shaggy main and whisks his bis tail as an indication that he is becom becoming sensible of the fact that he be must do something to meet agencies gen cies the british people have great confidence in general wolseley as a military leader they would regard his bis resignation aa as little short of a calamity the premier has while condemning the soldiers brusque and probably impolitic exposure of the ithe mill military god and naval weakness of the country indicated that such a step on the part of the commander would be still more deprecated by him A study of career shows plainly that his successes have been largely due to a very important feature of his military methods he never strikes a blow blew until every preparation is made in detail to render it overwhelming whelm wh elming log when they are completed t the e advance is rapid and resolute it is doubtless this disposition for preparation pa ration discipline and readiness that has caused his bis impatience to overleap the barriers of prudenco prudence and led him bim to point exasperatingly to the demoralized condition of british forces and defenses it is only a year or two since he expressed an opinion to the effect aba tha a european war was inevitable he could not separate great britain f from rom participation in the comin coming struggle and he doubtless was una unable le to restrain himself longer in witnessing the apathy of the government conse the patriotism of lord welse ley e must remain undoubted it was t the e patriotic spirit which prompted h him to make the statements which brought the administration about his bis ears his assertions are corroborated by lord charles beresford Bere stord of the admiralty mi ralty and he be is thus very strongly supported the premier attempts to palliate the situation to which general Wold Wo lesley sley excepted by pointing to the fact that the roster of the army had been increased since 1884 from men of all arms to men while the expenditures tures for the navy nad had risen from taC ta it la is shown in alu answer asar to this however that the increase of the army in point of numbers goes but a little distance towards swelling swell ioa its efficiency as the weapons are nor BO of modern style and therefore not effective it is also held that the increase of navy expenditures has baa simply created a corresponding increase ot of jobbery the vessels placed upon the water practically unfit for service with the warlike aspect in europe it is not to be wondered at that the adjutant general who stands at the head of ahe british military forces should feel fedl warmly in relation to the situation in incase case of war his bis place would be at the head and f rout front of the struggle to be in such a position with inadequate and poorly armed forces would be one of the most unpleasant posts a man could occupy it would mean overwhelming disaster to the country and everlasting shame to a soldier whose past achievements would be blotted out by defeat the agitation precipitated by lord wolseley y will cause sach activity in brit british ish a army r my and navy circles as has not been witnessed for many years such preparation will doubtless RO go 1 orward forward until the time arrives when war shall be poured out oat upon all nations |