rest of the population of the United Kingdom is only one-half that of the army.
4. That it is beneficial physically. Physical exercise taken in moderation is, of course, beneficial, but it does not follow that military drill is the best form of exercise. (Let us hear what experts say). Speaking on November 28th, 1913, the British Minister for Education (Mr. J. A. Pease) said: "Nor was military training calculated to improve physique. His experts at the Board of Education told him that no military system equalled the Swedish drill now given in the schools." Sandow gives similar testimony:—"It must never be forgotten for a single moment that military drill and physical culture are two absolutely different things, and must be kept separate…Physical culture has for its entire aim the proper and healthy development of the human body; military drill has for its object the teaching of precision and rhythm in movement."
Moreover, the military system rejects those who most need building up physically, only affecting those who pass a certain physical test.
"But," it may be said, "all this, while germane to the subject, is beside the mark in the present crisis. The British Empire is at stake, and conscription for the war may be necessary; if so, nothing is too precious to be risked in so vital a cause." A gain, it is sometimes argued, "If Great Britain had had conscription, the war would not have occurred."
Those who make this latter assertion base it on the assumption that England's army would have been so strong that the German military party would not have risked a war. There are doubtless many ways of looking at the matter, but space precludes any lengthy discussion of what is now after all an academic consideration. Two of the principal theories as to the origin of the war are:—First, that the German Government has deliberately watched and worked for war, with a view to world domination, and, second, that the Germans feared aggression by Russia, and think they are fighting a war of defence. Take it either way. If England had begun to institute conscription, and Germany was determined on war, war would have come sooner or later, and Germany might—probably would—have struck before England's conscript army had come into being. Or, if the theory of a defensive and desperately hazardous war on the part of Germany against Russia (backed by the other Entente Powers) be accepted, would the extra danger caused by the existence of a million, or a million and a half, British conscripts have prevented war?
Lord Roberts spoke officially as President of the National Service League at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, on 22nd October, 1912, and was heartily applauded. In the course of his speech, he said: "Germany strikes when Germany's hour has struck. That is the time-honoured policy of her Foreign Office. That was the policy relentlessly pursued by Bismarck and Moltke in 1866 and 1870; it has been her policy, decade by decade, since that date; it is her policy at the present hour. And, gentlemen, it is an excellent policy. It is, or should be, the policy of every nation prepared to play a great part in history." In the same speech he demanded an army "strong enough also to make our strength felt on the mainland of Europe should we ever appear
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