CHARGES OF BLUNDERING

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 141, 12 December 1923, Page 5

CHARGES OF BLUNDERING

MR. CHURCHILL'S DEFENCE.

UustiULiAN-NEW Zealand cA&le associatioH.) (Received 12th December, 12.15 p.m.), LONDON, 11th December. ; Mr. Churchill, cross-examined, said he did not agree with the suggestion of counsel, Mr. Hayes, that his explanation as to why he went to the Admiralty shortly after the Battle of Jutland was untrue.

Mr. Hayes suggested that owing to Sir. Churchill' 6 blunders in the war there was a great loss of life, and 'Irerefore the publication of the alleged libel was for, the public benefit. Mr. Churchill agreed that it would be most important that ;he should be punished if such foul charges 'were true. Hfe went to Antwerp with the authority of Lord Kitchener, Viscount Grey, and the best naval authorities. He believed the Dardanelles could have been rushed. The stakes in the "Dardanelles gamble" were not human lives, but old battleships. The whole object was to save lives by avoiding terrible frontal attacks in France. He firmly believed »it lie was fight in trying to carry out ute scheme. He admitted that he had made £15,000 from his book "The World Crisis.-"