BRITISH AMATEUR SOLDIERY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5267, 25 May 1895, Page 4

BRITISH AMATEUR SOLDIERY.

Tho paafc week, says a London despatch o! April 20, has bean mainly remarkable, for a considerable ditplay of amateur bo1« diery, and from it has arisen a email tempest, which may result in permanent good to the auxiliary forces. The British volunteers, whose great period of training is at Easter, are divided into two parties — -those who are desirous of doing seriont soldiering and those who prefer making their holiday a picnic. This year the bulk of the volunteer regiments of the London district were taken to Windsor, where, with guard battalions from the Aldershot camp, some paltry manoeuvres, were carried out, and on Easter Monday there was a big review in the presence of the Duke of Oonnaught, youngest son of the Quean and the general in command of Alderahot, Prince Christian of SchleswigHolfitein, Lord Bethune, Commander of the Thames district, and other wax officials, and all the royal servants bom Windsor Castle. The Times, in a leading article on the Bubjoot, takes the Duke of Connanght and the other military officers sharply to task for ordering such a burlesque of real soldiering, saying, " Foot days were mis-spent in rehearsing for a royal review/ The comments of the Times have led to much correspondence on tho subject, the writers in a number of inßtanoea thanking the Times for its out6p:sken criticism of the military officials responsible for the review at Windsor, and saying that the criticisms are itt the real interests of the volunteers.