Bygones Worth Remembering, Vol. 1 (of 2)Holyoake, George Jacob
Philosophy
Bygones Worth Remembering, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Holyoake, George Jacob
Holyoake, George Jacob, 1817-1906; Social reformers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Working class -- Great Britain -- Biography
General de Lacy Evans is no longer with us, or he might give us an
instructive account of the uncertainty and difficulty of discipline in
a patriotic legion which volunteers its services without intelligently
intending obedience. When I became Acting Secretary for sending out the
British Legion to Garibaldi, I found no one with any relevant experience
who knew what to expect or what to advise. Those likely to be in command
were ready to exercise authority, but those who were to serve under them
expected to do it more or less in their own way. The greatest merit in a
volunteer legion is that they agree in the object of the war they engage
in. They do not blindly adopt the vocation of murder---for that is
what military service means. It means the undertaking to kill at the
direction of others--without knowledge or conviction as to the right and
justice of the conflict they take part in.
General De Lacy Evans being a military man of repute, and marching with
his Spanish Legion, had disciplinary influence over them. Two of
my colleagues in other enterprises of danger were among the Spanish
volunteers, but they were not at hand--one being in America and the
other in New Zealand--otherwise I might have had the benefit of their
experience.
The project of sending out to Garibaldi a British Legion came in the
air. It was probably a suggestion of De Rohan's, who had gathered in
Italy that British volunteers would influence Italian opinion; be an
encouragement in the field; and, if sent out in time, they might be
of military service. Be this as it may, the Garibaldi Committee found
themselves, without premeditation, engaged in enlisting men, at least by
proxy. It was a new business, in which none of us were experts. We knew
that men of generous motive and enterprise would come forward. At the
same time, we were opening a door to many of whom we could not know
enough to refuse, or to trust. However, the army of every country is
largely recruited from the class of dubious persons, over whom officers
have the power to compel order--which we had not.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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