It would be necessary also to keep with the colours for some months after the first year’s training a number of garrison artillery and engineers to provide for the security of fortresses during the period between the time of sending home one annual class and the preliminary lessons of the next.  These men would be paid.  I allow 10,000 men for this purpose, and these, with the 20,000 prolonging their training for the paid reserve, and with the mounted troops undergoing the second year’s training, would give during the winter months a garrison strength at home of 50,000 men.

The mobilised army of a million men would require a great number of extra officers, who should be men of the type of volunteer officers selected for good education and specially trained, after their first year’s service, in order to qualify them as officers.  Similar provision must be made for supplementary non-commissioned officers.

XVIII.

THE COST

It will probably be admitted that an army raised and trained on the plan here set forth would be far superior in war to the heterogeneous body which figures in the Army Estimates at a total strength of 540,000 regulars, militia, and volunteers.  Its cost would in no case be more than that of the existing forces, and would probably be considerably less.  This is the point which requires to be proved.

The 17th Appendix to the Army Estimates is a statement of the cost of the British army, arranged under the four headings of:—­

1.  Cost of personnel of regular army and
   army reserve L18,279,234

2.  Cost of special reserves and territorial
   forces 5,149,843

3.  Cost of armaments, works, stores, &c. 3,949,463

4.  Cost of staff and administration               1,414,360
___________
Making a total of                        L28,792,900
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In the above table nearly a million is set down for the cost of certain labour establishments and of certain instructional establishments, which may for the present purpose be neglected.  Leaving them out, the present cost of the personnel of the Regular Army, apart from staff, is, L15,942,802.  For this cost are maintained officers, non-commissioned officers and men, numbering altogether 170,000.

The lowest pay given is that of 1s. a day to infantry privates, the privates of the other arms receiving somewhat higher and the non-commissioned officers very much higher rates of pay.

If compulsory service were introduced into Great Britain, pay would become unnecessary for the private soldier; but he ought to be and would be given a daily allowance of pocket-money, which probably ought not to exceed fourpence.  The mounted troops would be paid at the rate of 1s. a day during their second year’s service.

Assuming then that the private soldier received fourpence a day instead of 1s. a day, and that the officers and non-commissioned officers were paid as at present, the cost of the army would be reduced by an amount corresponding to 8d. a day for 148,980 privates.  That amount is L1,812,590, the deduction of which would reduce the total cost to L14,137,212.  At the same rate an army of 200,000 privates and