I believe that volunteer firemen are very numerous in America, and we see large numbers of them in England. The object of the movement is of course admirable, and consequently it is a thousand pities that sometimes discredit is thrown on the force by the collection of subscriptions by persons whose claims to distinction are (to put it mildly) of an extremely slender character. It would be well if volunteer firemen could be put on the same footing with volunteer riflemen. In France and other countries they are treated as soldiers, and on emergency can be used as a military force. If the War Office could see its way to accepting the services of the English , and granting commissions to their officers, the scandals to which I have incidentally referred would disappear and become at once impossible. At the present moment the discipline of the various brigades is purely self-imposed. To become thoroughly effective the force require more than this, and the man who adopts my suggestion and works out the idea successfully will assuredly deserve well of his country. He will cover himself with distinction, and no doubt be offered a knighthood. As an alternative suggestion, why not make volunteers themselves ? It would be an addition to