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250 ECONOMIC- INQUIRIES AND STUDIES
ally, in which case two or three army corps would be
required for a respectable appearance on the scene.
With combatants nearly balanced, a force of this sort
thrown into the scale by England would possibly have
the kind of effect which resulted from the appearance
of English troops in the Peninsula in the great war with
France; but the use of the English Army in this fashion
w{)uld arise from diplomatic and military incidents of
a peculiar kind, and does not appear a special object to
provide for. As the greater includes the less, provision
for the other objects stated will secure that we can
participate, when required, in a European war.
Having stated the problem in this way, I come to
the question of numbers-how many on a peace, how
many on a war footing?
It will be obvious from the description above given
of the objects of our Army that the peace footing should
adequately provide for the first three of these objects,
viz., defence against civil commotion; defence against
raids by sea on the mother country at the outbreak of
war and until our general naval preponderance is con-
verted in fact into unquestioned and overwhelming
superiority over the particular enemy engaged against
us; and the similar defence of our dependencies and
coaling stations and dep6ts abroad. The essence of
security against civil commotion is the provision of a
force adequate to prevent any riot becoming a re-
bellion; and the use of garrisons is to prevent surprise,
so that they should be always ready. On the outbreak
of war it will be too late to raise new levies and rein-
force stations that are inadequately protected. The
Army on a peace footing, then, must be equal to the
duties described. In addition, the peace army must be
a nucleus of force, and must contain an organization
enabling it to expand on a war footing for the other
purposes contemplated-defence against possible inva-
sion at home in contingencies that are not impossible,
defence against serious invasion by land of any part of