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1816. Local militia and Ballot Act suspended. General militia disembodied.

1820–21–25. Militia called out for training.

1829. Act passed suspending ballot for the general militia.

In the latter stages of the great French war the tendency of the government was to use the general militia rather as a reservoir producing drafts (in the end whole units) for service abroad, and the local militia as the real defensive force. During the height of the war (in 1812) the relative position of the various branches of the army was as follows: First line, the standing army; second line, the general or regular militia, which as the war went on were more and more used abroad; third line, the local militia, with the survivors of the volunteers, who at that time numbered about 68,000 men. After the peace of 1815 the militia was allowed practically to fall into abeyance, and although the permanent staff was maintained, it had no duties to perform. In 1848 the Prime Minister intimated in parliament his intention to re-establish the militia, but it was not until 1852, after an unsuccessful attempt to resuscitate the local militia, that the general militia of England was reorganized under a system of voluntary enlistment with the ballot in reserve, Scotland and Ireland being included in 1854. The property qualification of officers which had hitherto existed (with exception in favour of ex-officers of the army and navy) was reduced, and after a further reduction in 1854, abolished in 1869. Larger powers respecting the militia were conferred upon the Crown, and during the Crimean War the queen was authorized to embody the militia whenever a state of war existed with any foreign power. In that war the militia was embodied and did garrison duty not only in the United Kingdom but in the Mediterranean garrisons, thus enabling the authorities to send most of the available regular troops to the scene of hostilities. It further contributed many officers and some 30,000 men to the line. During the Indian Mutiny it filled scarcely less useful functions when again called out. The acceptance of voluntary offers of service in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man was definitely authorized in 1859, and extended to service in Malta and Gibraltar in 1875.

In 1871 an important constitutional change was made. It was part of the new army system inaugurated in that year that the control of the militia should be removed from the lord-lieutenant of the county and vested wholly in the Crown. It now virtually ceased to exist as a distinct body, and in 1881 it became a part of the regular forces with a limitation as to the time and area and other conditions of service. Militia battalions were united with the line battalions to form territorial regiments, the artillery and engineers being also closely associated with the regular services. Various amendments and new enactments followed, all in the direction of increasing the usefulness of the militia, rendering it more efficient and readier for service, though at the same time making it more and more a means for supplying recruits, both officers and men, to the regular army. The officers, who were commissioned by the Crown, were in 1877 made subject at all times to military law. Non-commissioned officers and men were only so subject when embodied or out for training, with extension in the case of men convicted of offences committed during training until the expiration of the punishment. Enlistment was voluntary, compulsory service by ballot remained legal, but suspended. The period of engagement was for six years, re-engagements for periods of four years up to the age of 45 being permitted. Bounties were paid to militiamen at various rates upon enlistment, conclusion of training, re-engagement, enlistment into reserve or special service section, and other special circumstances. Recruit training, maximum six months, as a rule did not exceed three months. Recruits were either drilled immediately upon enlistment at any time of the year, which is now the most usual system, or else at preliminary drills (first instituted in 1860), immediately preceding the annual training of the corps. The annual training varied with the different branches of the service. The usual term for infantry was 27 days, but when on manœuvres this was generally extended to 34 days, 56 days being the legal maximum. Artillery and fortress engineers trained for 41 days and submarine mining engineers for 55 days. Trainings took place for the most part in camp or barracks, and large numbers of militia battalions were latterly called on to take part in field manœuvres. The militia dépôts occupied as a rule the same barracks, and officers and men wore (with slight distinctions) the same uniform as the regulars. The militia occupied an important position in the mobilization scheme for national defence. The permanent staff (adjutant, quartermaster, and an establishment of non-commissioned officers and buglers or drummers, all regulars) was engaged during the non-training period of the year in recruiting, care of arms, clothing &c., and in drilling recruits. The general lines of the system, as regards training are still followed with the Special Reserve, though the constitution of the new force is very different.

The militia ordinarily was liable only for service in the United Kingdom, but by legislation in 1899 may voluntarily serve in any part of the world, including India. During 1899–1900, 22,000 militiamen were thus accepted for service abroad, the bulk of them proceeding to the seat of war in South Africa.

The militia reserve consisted of men selected from the ranks of the militia for special enlistment for service in the regular army when called upon in emergencies, in the following proportions to the establishments of the various corps: Artillery, one-third; engineers and infantry, one-fourth; medical staff corps, one-half. The militia reserve was first formed in 1867, and in 1900 numbered 30,000 men. During an emergency in 1878, 20,000 militia reservists joined the regular army. The term “militia” reserve was therefore a complete misnomer, and the force so called was purely an army reserve. The special service section of the militia was formed by royal warrant in 1898, and consisted of (1) militia units and (2) individual militiamen. A militia unit was considered as available for special service if not less than 75% of the officers and men present at training made a voluntary offer to engage for special service in any part of the world, and if in the infantry at least 500 and in the artillery at least 250 men were accepted as qualified. Individual militiamen engage to serve either with their militia unit if it were registered for service, or else for special service with the regular forces. Liability for service was limited to twelve months. Men of the special service section could also belong to the militia reserve, and receive a bounty in addition to that given for the reserve. The result of this special section was not up to 1900 satisfactory. Very few units could qualify for registration, and the response of individual men was comparatively insignificant.

During and after the South African War, while militia recruiting for the regulars showed a constant increase compared with preceding years, the strength of the militia itself decreased year after year. Its militia character had been diminishing ever since the creation of the “militia reserve” and the close affiliation of the force to the regular army. For good or evil, then, it had become in the first place a draft-producing agency, and on the reorganization of the forces of the Crown into two lines by Mr Haldane the old “constitutional force” was frankly reorganized as a reserve for the line, enlistment and training conditions remaining somewhat similar to those in vogue in the militia, but the liability for service abroad becoming the first and most important condition in the “special reservist’s” enlistment.

 MILK (O. Eng. meoluc; from a common Indo-European root, cf. Lat. mulgere, Gr.  ), the fluid secreted by the mammary glands of the division of vertebrate animals called Mammalia (see ), and primarily devised for the nourishment of their own young.

The milk of various domesticated animals is more or less used by man for food. The milk of the cow, which may be taken as typical of all others, and is indeed by far the most important and valuable of all (see ), is, when newly drawn, an opaque White fluid, with a. yellowish tinge, soft, bland and sweetish to the taste, and possessed of a faintly animal odour. This odour, according to Schreiner, is due to the presence of sulphuretted hydrogen, and disappears after a short exposure. The specific gravity of milk ordinarily ranges from 1·029 to 1·033, very seldom reaching 1·035 or falling so low as 1·027. In chemical constitution it consists of an emulsion