12
Canada, I am of opinion that officers of the army should be Commanders and Adjutants.* They would be told off by the Horse Guards upon the order for service being given, and should proceed to Canada to take command and enter upon their duties.
24. In alluding to the militia reserve as the source from whence to draw Imperial reserve men, I do so in the sense that every male in Canada, with certain exceptions, is liable by law to serve in the militia, and that most of them are enrolled in the reserve, amounting to 650,000 men, between the ages of 18 and 60.
25. As the whole success of such a project in Canada depends upon co-operation with the militia, and as the local command of this Imperial force should, I conceive, devolve upon the Deputy Adjutant-Generals of military districts, so therefore should the Militia Act and the rules and orders for the militia be made applicable to the Imperial reserve while in Canada. The terms of their enlistment and the commission of the officers would, of course, contemplate their serving under the Army Discipline and Regulation Acts as soon as they were called upon for active service out of Canada.
26. The issue of arms, accoutrements, and clothing by the Imperial Government might either be made from an Imperial central depôt, or might be entrusted to militia district storekeepers. The stores should be, when issued, kept in private armouries, in charge of each captain, and superintended by the district staff."
27. While the captain of each company is the proper person to hold responsible for the safe keeping of Government property, especially in country districts, from whence the best material is drawn, the staff of the battalion to which the Imperial company is linked should, of course, be utilized chiefly at the time of the annual training, as if the reserve company was part of the Canadian militia battalion,
I believe, if worked on the foregoing plan, the scheme of an Imperial reserve would be popular, and therefore succeed.
(Signed)
Ottawa, March 27,
1880.
E. SELBY SMYTH, Lieutenant-General,
13
Paragraphs 14, 15. See remarks on 5, 6, 7.
Paragraphs 16, 17, 18. Agreed.
Paragraph 19. This will be a matter of experience. I think a large proportion might easily be found.
Paragraph 20. Not from reserve militia. I feel sure that seven thoroughly competent officers could be found to command battalions in the Dominion. These should not be selected by the Deputy Adjutant-Generals, but by the central authority-i.e., by the General Officer commanding the militia, who would have all Canada to choose from.
The Deputy Adjutant-Generals might recommend the company officers for their particular battalions, and the General Officer Commanding would select.
The names of the officers should be submitted for approval by the English Com- mander-in-chief.
The Commanding Officer and one Major should be Canadians in time of war, the second Major and a certain proportion of the company officers could be supplied from the regular army.
I think the Lieutenant-Colonels should be appointed permanently. I could name several of my own knowledge.
Paragraph 21. Good non-commissioned officers will, I think, be the greatest difficulty, not as to material, which is excellent, but as regards training. About 500 company sergeants and corporals will be wanted. These might be attached for training in successive batches during winter months to the Kingston College, and Kingston battery, to the Quebec battery, and to any regiments at Halifax, being paid and subsisted by the Imperial Government while so attached.
Paragraph 25. Agreed with qualification of remark on paragraph 11. Paragraphs 26 and 27. Matters of detail casily arranged.
April 19, 1880.
(Signed)
P. L. MAC DOUGALL
Inclosure 2 in No. 14.
On Sir Selby Smyth's Memorandum, dated Ottawa, March 27, 1880.
PARAGRAPH 4. It is hopeless to expect that the Canadian Government will maintain three regiments for permanent duty in time of peace. Should they do so, it would, of course, be at the cost of the present active force.
It is equally hopeless to expect the English Government to assume the charge of maintaining the three regiments referred to.
Paragraphs 5, 6, 7. It requires careful consideration to determine the best method of distributing the reserve men. If a few battalions only of active militia were chosen in a militia district, with which to affiliate companies of the reserve, to the exclusion of the remainder, considerable jealousy might be created.
Looking at the matter all round, I am inclined to think that it would be a saving of trouble, cost, and jealousies to enrol the Imperial Canadian reserve just as the militia reserves are enrolled in England, where they are borne on the strength of militia battalions individually, not in separate companies. The reserve men could thus be distributed indifferently throughout the battalions of the active force. They would be formed in companies, with officers, on paper, outside the active battalions to which they belong, and would be assembled in battalions as a distinct body every year. The men might perform
their regular drills with their respective active corps, and afterwards their reserve training.
The enrolment of " tramps” could easily be prevented by the qualifications for enrol- ment; that should embrace height, age, inedical certificate of fitness, certificate of good conduct, and proficiency in drill and musketry, and fixed abode.
Paragraphs 8, 9, 10. Agreed.
Paragraph 11. The reserve battalions, when under arms and in the pay of the Impe- rial Government, should be under the orders of the General Officer Commanding in Canada, and should be inspected by him every year.
Paragraphs 12, 13. All the reserve men should be enrolled from among the active militia, or from among men having served therein, and ready to re-enter, and fulfilling the requisite qualifications.
*It is quite probable that some of the Canadian Lieutenant-Colonels might be found willing and qualified to command in the field, and equally so that Cadets from the Royal Military College would be excellent Adjutants.
Inclosure 3 in No. 14.
Notes on Sir P. MacDougall's Memorandum.
I CANNOT concur that it is "hopeless" to expect the Canadian Government to maintain a small permanent force, even in time of general peace, upon the economical basis sketched out in my annual Report of this year, and in previous Memoranda. Public opinion is being gradually, if slowly, educated up to the necessity, owing to the repetition of dangerous riots in large cities, and the spread of population among the aborigines of the north-west territories.
Such an increase would not be at the cost of the active militia, and some public men have already turned their thoughts to such a contingency at no distant day.
From information derived from various districts, I am impressed with the hope that the Deputy Adjutant-Generals could select certain corps on which to affiliate reserved companies without much, if any, jealousy. Those staff officers know local feelings best. Those of judgment and experience, to whom I referred, hold the opinion before expressed.
The alternative might undoubtedly be taken, to enrol a reserve in Canada similar to the militia reserve in England, serving individually and not in companies, and it might answer the purpose; but the practical opinions 1 obtained before recording my own, and which have been since supplemented, adhere to the mode already stated.
Canada is an enormous territory with a sparse population, England comparatively small and thickly peopled; the system that suits the one perfectly might be less successful in the other. Canada, like England, is quite competent to adopt plans suitable to the pursuits and character of its own people.
I had previously recommended that the reserve should be assembled in battalions as a distinct body every year, after performing their regular drills with the respective affiliated corps. To this end officers must be appointed; it would be to no practical end to have them only on paper; and I am afraid it would be found necessary to give them a small reserve pay as a retainer. There is an abundance of good officers, some of whom have served in the regular army, but generally engaged in business.
The character of the Canadian militia has changed materially since Sir Patrick left them in 1868. The force was then only growing up under his able management, but since ths departure of the regular army in 1870, they have learned to appreciate that they form the national army of the Dominion, and have correspondingly developed in solidity and self-respect.
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