THE BRITISH ARMY.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9944, 20 January 1900, Page 2

THE BRITISH ARMY.

An American view of the British Army, as supplied by the Now York Tribune, should prove interesting at the present juncture. In a leading article the Tribune, says: — The British army has been much despised upon the Continent since the memory of Waterloo began to fade. Its hideous mismanagement in the Crimea discredited its system as much as Balaclava showed its individual valour , and eince then it has had to deal with none but petty tribes or with remote enemies. Upon the fields ol Europe it has been unknown, and Waterloo has ben. eclipsed by Duiipel, ijp'luwa, aid Sedan. With no conscription, outnumbeied more than 10 to cftio by rivals, and jcatt>>ied to the fuur coinera of the oarth, it has eomr. to be regarded ni a negligible if not, <m outright minus quantity, but uovr that* estimate ia ro oonsidered. With a, promptness, a

smoothness, and an ease that mako tho Continental captains 111 b their eyes, a Butish army is mobilised and sent halfway around tho globe for action. It is to be observed that, despite her business in South Africa, Great Britain is just as fiee as ever to deal with any other foe. Tho hands with which she has been expected to grapple with Russian, or I'r^nch, or Geimau aggression are not •ied 1101 busy. Her fleet is not engaged m the Transvaal. Just a few ships, un!er the gallant Chichester— the friend ot Dewcy at Manila— are sufficient for her purpose there. All the rest remain on duty as before, around her coasts, in tho narrow .seas in tho Mediterranean, llikl wherever thoro is an interest to guard or a menace to check. It is not 111 vainglorious boasting, nor in swaggering jingoism, but in the calm confidenco of well-prepared and well-tested strength, that the British Empire stands on review to-day, ready at every point, on land and sea, to keep ahko her martial drum-boat sounding her vast realm intact all round the crimsoned circle of ihe globe.