way that made them all feel uncomfortable, and ignored the guilty ones, if such were present.

Vaguely but learnedly he talked of clues and motives When we last heard of him, detective like, he was still" working on the case," and is likely to remain so until some one comes along and tells him all about it, when' the newspapers will bristle with paragraphs as to the remarkable skill and shrewdness of detective so and so, in unravelling the tangled web that for so long has veiled one of the most extraordinary murders of modern times. Until the time arrives, all these

questions must remain unanswered, for it would be presumptuous in me to pretend to know more than the detective. I can only make public these facts within my own knowledge, and indicate lines on which I think the detective should proceed in his investigations. In the meantime, we must wait patiently for the revelation that will, no doubt, furnish Millageville and the country at large with one of the most startling sensations of the day, and when the dark and mysteri ous particulars shall be unearthed, I promise to give full information in respect to them to a waiting public.

THE habitual development, encouragement, and distribution throughout the Dominion, of minds trained in intelligent military reflection and study is very important to Canada as a nation.

The supreme trial through which China is now passing is clearly due to the short-sighted contempt in which her upper classes hold those of the military profession, and to her neglect of higher military education. With a population of over 360 millions, and one and a-half millions of square miles of richly-productive territory, she has for many ages had at her disposal well nigh unlimited command of wealth, men, and material.

Yet, she is now all but at the mercy of Japan, which has but a tenth of her population and territory, and is at her wits' end to secure the hired services of militarily-educated foreigners of any grade, from private to commander-in-chief, from able-bodied seaman to admiral.

Japan, with an army of only 78 thousand twenty years ago, and 18 war vessels, has given unremitting attention to progress in military matters. But a year or two ago China, with nearly 2,000,000 enrolled men, and an army of trained irregular levies, had better founded reason for neglecting energetic military education than Canada has to-day.

Formal, full, and effective recognition of the vital national interests involved in the purposes for which the Royal Military College has been established, should not be longer withheld. If encouragement, conducive to increasing the number of students resorting to the college, can be accorded only at the cost of personal inconvenience and political sacrifice, patriotism demands that the inconvenience shall be suffered, and the sacrifice made.

F

The R. M. C. was opened in 1876, and the first graduating class passed out in 1880. The only restrictions to entrance are, that the candidates must be British subjects, between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, and that for three years preceding the examination they or their parents have resided in Canada.

Its object, defined by the Act of Parliament establishing it, is for the imparting of an education in such military subjects as fortification, tactics, and military engineering, embracing, too, a general, scientific knowledge in such studies as are now necessary to a modern education, as well as to a thorough knowledge of the military profession. Differing from the English Military Colleges, from those on the continent of Europe, and from West Point in the United States, where the graduates are all expected to adopt and immediately follow the profession of arms, the R.M.C. has steadily, from the first, had in view a good military education, calculated to improve the whole martial spirit of the country, as these young men take their places as citizens of Canada.

As a special reward, a few commissions are given away every year in the British army and Colonial forces, but to gain these, the cadet must be proficient in all the subjects taught. It was never contemplated that all graduates would adopt a purely military career, but that in course of time such a leaven of specially instructed men would be spread over the community that their services would be of incalculable value in case of need. With this object in view, and also providing amply for such as desire to follow a purely civil occupation, the curriculum embraces such studies in its higher branches as civil engineering, architecture, drawing, painting, physics, chemistry, and topographical surveying. Nor are electrical engineering, meteorology, astronomy, geology and other applied sciences omitted. Therefore, while a student is, during his four years' residence in college, subject to military discipline and drill, his studies can be so ordered, and such branches taken up, as may assist in the profession he desires to ultimately follow.

All graduates, beyond the few granted special commissions in the British or Colonial forces, are gazetted as officers in the Canadian Militia, and expected to identify themselves with the force as it now exists.

As the Canadian force is purely militia, and has so far been entirely drawn by voluntary enlistments from the civil part of the community, it cannot fail to be self-evident that the training provided by the R.M.C. must tend to its greater efficiency. The effect is the dissemination of military knowledge, a more marked improvement in the status of the corps in which the graduates are employed, and a general condition of self-reliance only imparted by military education. The present enrolled active militia force of the country is about 1-13 of that which would be required in the event of Canada being called to arms. Consider, then, the rôle expected of

those who have had the advantage of receiving their education at this national college. Any demand must be sudden, and will necessitate an immediate call for all educated and trained officers.

There would be the battalion organization, the mobilization and concentration of the levied troops, the drill and issue of arms and supplies, the distribution and supply of ammunition, requiring more skilled instruction than is available to the average officer. Then, as still further requirements, there would be the knowledge of strategy and applied tactics, of military sketching and reconnaissance, of railway construction and management, of heliographic and other forms of signalling, of telegraphy, and of the selection of military positions and the placing of them in a state of defence conformable to the general plans of the commander-in-chief.

Every year adds steadily to the number of those thus qualified who have passed out of the R.M.C., and, although not always in active employment, they would be available in a wondrous degree when called upon to act. In this it is that the true work of the college, as yet in its infancy, consists; to mature the work, the energies of the Government should be put forth and the sympathy of the people at large enlisted.

The sources from which an adequate supply of trained officers are available are so small that the greater must be the dependence placed on the instruction afforded by the R.M.C. It is the only educational establishment in the country where any such work is touched upon and early training provided to fit men to usefully take their places in a military organization suddenly formed for the defence of the country.

It requires but a very cursory study of the history of the older world to appreciate the advantages accruing to a nation whose early systematic military training has been carried out with

preconceived plans and ideas. If this is true with those maintaining standing armies, how much more forcibly must it come home to us, relying as we do on our citizen soldiery in moments of urgent need.

It should be a national pride, as it certainly is a national insurance, to foster such a spirit among our community. On the other hand, history presents to us a forcible lesson in the fate of those whose supineness and indifference have led to their decline and even extinction.

It may here be interesting to review the military instructional system of Canada and the relation thereto of the R.M.C.

As a primary course for those already in the force, there are the permanent corps established for schools of instruction in regimental details, and acting as patterns of a more finished training. The average time of instruction here is only three months, familiarly known as the "Short Course," rendering it impossible for men to acquire more than an element ary knowledge in such a limited period of attendance.

Then, as a continued line of study, there is provided the "Long Course," lasting for six months. Its earlier stages comprise an advanced course at these military schools of the different arms, and include a special three months' attendance at the R.M.C., where the superior advantages afforded are made available and its usefulness and educational facilities presented immediately to the commissioned ranks.

It is, however, in the early education carried on in the college that its great service is apparent, the design being to meet the requirements of the country in providing instruction in excess of the regimental detail of the "Short" and "Long" courses, and to form a reserve of men fitted to rapidly fill the positions which they may at any time be called upon to assume. Only by such early education

can they appreciate and with advantage render the services expected of them by the nation.

All vacancies in the military schools of the different arms, consequent upon promotion and other causes, should in the future be filled by the graduates of the R.M.C., as naturally it must furnish more promising officers and instructors than are available from any other source in Canada. How can this be otherwise when outside the R.M.C. the opportunities are very few, if not entirely wanting, for officers to acquire a knowledge and proficiency in subjects so essential to military training as fortification, both field and permanent, and bridging. There are also the branches of telegraphy, military law and administration, principles of the manufacture of material, the nature and use of explosives, and the application of electricity, all vital, if we wish to advance with the present times. Without a knowledge of all these, an officer must be greatly handicapped when he finds himself in the position of an instructor. Combined with all is the excellent education afforded in French, English and mathematics; and last, though not least, a properly conducted and supervised physical training. We have already had proof of the value of the college in services rendered by some of its graduates in England, Africa and Asia, and on its own staff. During the N.W. rebellion of 1885, thirty-three R.M. College graduates were employed, including seven on the staff in the field. Can it be doubted, then, for a moment, that, if exigencies demanded, such services would not be rendered at home The college has been fortunate in having had since its start, in 1876, the services of an efficient staff, who by their ability and example have done much to assure the success achieved. It is directly to the high standard of training and disciplinary spirit of the R.M.C. that its young men may ascribe their honors won.