WILL STRIVE FOR BETTER FEELING

Grey River Argus, 22 December 1916, Page 3

WILL STRIVE FOR BETTER FEELING

Speaking fpr himself and his colleaguea, ne said that tiiey would strive 10 produce that better reeling winch was essential lor tne solution ul tlie Irish problem. iie askea men ol ail JLaces and creeds . to come iorth and help the Government. It -would not solve the political question, but would help to do something thai would be a real contribution towards winning the war. QUESTION OF DOMINIONS After paying a high tribute _ to the enormous and incalclable services of the Navy, not merely to the Empire but the whole Allied cause, he came to the question of the Dominions. Ministers had especially ecknowledged th esplendid assistance the Domm ions' had given tp their own free .will to the Old Country in their championship of the cause of humanity and the great ideals of national fair play and justice. . He appealed to vhe D.oniuions just as insistently as Britain and the Dominions recognised 1 throughout that the right was not a selfish one and the quarrel not merely . a European one, but one in which great, world issues were involved and with which their children were as concerned as ours. The new Go 'eminent was as full of gratitued as the lold for the super-valour which oUi. kinsmen had shown in so many tricken fields, but that was not why he introduced the subject. ! AVILL SUMMON IMPERIAL | CONFERENCE The reason that the Government felt that the. time had -orti" when the Dominions ought to be more fo-nially consulted as to the progress and the course of the .war and the steps that ought to be taken to secure victory, and the best methods of gathering in those fruits. He' proposed, there-, fore, at an early date ,to summpn an- 1 Imperial Conference and place the I whole position before the Dominions. I He would take counsel with them as t° _ what further action they and Britain should take together in order to achieve an early and complete triumph of the ideals that they and the Mother Country are so superbly fighting for. READY DECISION REQUIRED He then dealt with relations with our Allies. We had already achieved unity of aim, but when it came to a question of unity of action he still thought that a good deal was left to be desired. He only had to refer to the incident of Roumania and each • man could spell out for himself what is meant. The enemy had two supreme advantages. He could act on internal lines, and there was one great dominant power that practically, directed the enemy's forces. We had neither of these advantages. Therefore we must achieve the same end by other means. • The advantages which the Allies possessed were advantages which time would improve. No one could say that we may be best at that time. There had' been tardiness of decision and action. There must be some means of arriving at quicker and readier derisions and- carryimr them out. He believed that it could b** done. There must be more real consultation between the men, who had the direction of affairs and less feeling that each .country had only got its own front .to look after. The policy of a common front must be a reality. | The enemy realised this policy and \ve must secure it more and more, instead of having overwhelming guns on one side and bare breasts and gailant hearts on the other. That was essential for the Allies lor the curtailment of the period before victory arrived. A PERSONAL NOTE ' He would conclude with a personal note. He might say with all • sincerity that one of the regrets of his life was that he had to part from Mr Asquitb. Some of his friends knew how he strove to avert it. For years he had served under Mr Asquith and he had never a kindlier nor more indulgent chief. Any faults of temper were entirely his. It was with deep genuine grief that he felt it necessady to tender his resignation, but there were moments when personal or party considerations must sink, and if he had paid scant heed to the call ot party during the war it was because he realised that, from the moment Prussian cannon hurled death on a peaceable and inoffensive little country, a , challenge had been sent to us. It was I under these circumstances that he felt he ought to obtain the neenssarv power of rendering our 'plans fully effective. The nation was fighting for its 'lire and was entitled to the best services of all its sons. HIS ONLY AIM. These were the issues he wanted to keep in front oi the nation so that wo should not falter or feint in our resolves. There was a time in every prolonged and fierce wsir when in their i passion to wage the conflict men forget the high purpose with which they entered it. This struggle is for international right and international good faith, and is .the channel along which peace, honour", and good-will must flow amongst men. Embankments laj boriously built up for generations against barbarism, had been broken, and had not Groat Britain passed into the breach, Europe would have been inundated by the flood of savagery and the unbridled lust for power. A plain sense of fair play amongst nations, by the growth of international conscience for the protection of the "weak against the strong, by the stronger consciousness that justice has a more powerful backing in the world than greed, and the knowledge that any outrage upon fair dealing between nations, great or small,/' will meet with prompt and merited chastisement; these constitute the causeway along which humanity is progressing slowly to higher things. The triumph of Prussia would sweep all away and leave "mankind ty struggle helpless in the morass. 1 ' ' That is why since the war began • 'jl have known but one political aim, and for that I have fought with a single eye that is — the rescue of man- j \ kind from the most overwhelming ; catastrophe which ever menaced its . well-being. '/