OCR Text |
Show CONSCRIPTION DURING OUR OUR CIVIL WAR. Because of hi- lack of faith in Great Britain's ability to raise the necessary forces by voluntary service, serv-ice, Lord Nnrthcliffe. by way of Justifying Justi-fying conscription, cites the example of th United States. There is little In the experience of this country to encourage the British government to resort to the desperate expedient of forcer levies. The conscription act of March 1868, not only caused widespread Jis content, which culminated in the rlraft riots in this city right on the heels ol Gettysburg, but It led to endless end-less scandals and systematic attempts to evade the law It furnished relatively rela-tively few soldiers to the army The class of men on the whole who entered the army In the course of the successive drafts during the later years of the war was distinctly inferior in-ferior in physique and morale to those who offered themselves before conscription con-scription and bounties were adopteJ Tbe great soldiers In th Civil War were tbe volunteers, who responded ' to the country's call of their own will. It is an open question whether the : British military authorities are prepared pre-pared to handle, equip and train more th;m have come forward in answer to Lord Kitcheners appeals for recruits |