NO DRAWN GAME.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, Issue LXXII, 23 May 1917, Page 7

NO DRAWN GAME.

In speaking at Swansea, Mr Arthur Henderson, a member of the Imperial War Cabinet said :— "The more protracted the war becomes the more clearly is it indicated, a>nd in the interests of civilisation, democratic progress, and social development it becomes more and more essential that victory shall follow the efforts of the Allied cause. I am one of those who believe that a drawn game will be no other than a defeat. Either a defeat or a draw must be a positive menace to the future of the world's liberties. We have reached a most critical point in the history of the war. I am not going to say 'that we are within touch of the climax, but the climax cannot be very much longer delayed. The last thing the Government are prepared to do, whether men and women be secured by the voluntary principle or by compulsion, is to allow either our armies in the field or our 6upply of munitions to go below what we believe to be an absolutely essential minimum. In spite of the Military Service Acts, our army at this moment requires hundreds of thousands of men. The necessary drafts to maintain the line intact, properly trained, and fully equipped, must be provided with unfailing regularity. The submarine menace in the last few weeks has revolutionised the position. I am not going to' suggest that we have lost our position on the seas, but we have had a surprising development, and the enemy is probably playing his last card. The naval authoritites are dealing with it strenuously and effectively. We are not going to leave anything to chance. We must continue our command of the seas, upon which everything else depends, >not only for ourselves and our Allies, but for many of the neutrals."