Friedrich Engels

Written about June 25, 1860.

Translated from the English.

["New-York Daily Tribune," No. 5994, July 11, 1860, leading article]

The great muster of the Volunteers which took place in London a few weeks ago has drawn attention to the citizen-soldiery of Great Britain. The Volunteers must not be confused with the Militia, which constitutes a distinct force in Her Majesty’s service. According to the government returns, the Militia numbered 50,000 on April 1. Of these, 23,735 were embodied, England furnishing 13,580, Ireland 7,471, and Scotland 2,684. The Militia is composed of representatives of the lower classes, the Volunteers of members of the middle classes. The assertion of the London *Times* that in the ranks of the troops mustered on the 22nd “all classes were represented”, is merely a device to give the affair a popular colouring. Not three months have elapsed since a deputation of respectable mechanics waited upon the authorities, desiring to be furnished with arms, in order to “defend their country” in the event of an invasion. Their application was refused. The only working men admitted into the Volunteer corps are those whose equipment and expenses are borne by their employers, and who are presumed to be constantly at the beck and call of those employers.

The total strength of the British Volunteer force, despite the higher figures given in many recently published statistical tables, barely reaches 90,000. It is true that Colonel McMurdo, at a dinner given some time ago to the St. George’s Rifle Corps, stated that there were 124,000 Volunteers registered for service; but when pressed for particulars, he included half the Militia in his estimate. The newspapers put down each regiment at a nominal strength of 800 to 1,000 men, whereas in reality, at a troop parade, few regiments can muster more than 500 to 600. Sidney Herbert, whose position at the Horse Guards qualifies him to speak with authority on the subject, stated in Parliament a day or two before the grand review in London that “on paper the force has reached considerable figures, but they cannot be relied upon and never answer at roll-call”.

The speech containing this passage appeared in the same issue of the *Times* which reported the “grand success” of the national Volunteer muster. But the Hyde Park parade alone furnishes a striking illustration of the exaggerated manner in which the London press speaks of such things. The *Times* of the 20th promised that “no fewer than 35,000 men would appear before Her Majesty”. Tom Taylor, writing from London to the *Manchester Guardian* on the 21st, states that there were over 46,000 in the metropolis. Yet the total number of soldiers who marched past the Queen, according to Colonel McMurdo, who would hardly underestimate it, was 18,300. That is certainly not an extraordinary army that need be excessively cheered. In October 1803, nearly 13,000 native Londoners were inspected in Volunteer uniform, and in order to compare the British military power of those days with that of today, we append a brief summary of the Volunteer troops registered in January 1804:

Effective total strength of rank and file
341,687

Field officers
1,246

Captains
4,472

Subalterns
9,918

Staff officers
1,100

Sergeants
14,787

Drummers
6,733

Total
379,943

Even the 124,000 men to which England hopes to raise her present Volunteer army would not cut a creditable figure alongside this array. Reckoning one man in every ten of the present able-bodied male population of Great Britain, that would give 500,000 men. It does not appear from these facts that the English – despite the mutual congratulations of the London journals – have become more eager than before to take up arms for the defence of their country. According to the careful statistics of a correspondent in the *Army and Navy Gazette*, we find that the entire Militia and Volunteer forces of England amount to 50,160 Militiamen and 88,400 Volunteers, that is, a total of 138,560. Of these, the correspondent of the *Gazette* states, at least 20,000 would for a variety of reasons not be available in case of need, so that 118,560 men form the total strength of the Militia and Volunteer troops of England.