At the same time, the British Cabinet ordered Field Marshal Lord Roberts, the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, to send home artillery brigade and battery commanders "selected for their eminence and experience" to form an Equipment Committee. The committee was chaired by General Sir George Marshall, who had been artillery commander in South Africa. It formed in January 1901 with a wide-ranging area of study from horse-drawn mobile guns and the larger more static field guns, to harness design, and even binoculars. They swiftly established the "conditions to be fulfilled by proposed new equipment"; the most important were the "weight behind the team", then ballistics, rapidity of fire, weight of shell, provision of shield and number of rounds carried.