BRITISH NEWS.

Mataura Ensign, 13 January 1916, Page 7

BRITISH NEWS.

THE COMPULSION BILL. HOSTILE IjA IvO R MEMBER. BT BEECTRIO TELEGRAPH COPTBIGHI PEB UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION. LONDON. .1 an. 11. In tlio House oi' Commons 'Rt. Hon. IT. H. Asquith ..''Prime Minister), in rej»ly to a question, said tliat Cabinet was unanimous tliat the men provided liv the Compulsion Hill were indispensable Tor the ’Army. The question of the minimum number of male workers tor industrial, overseas trade and other vital interests of tin* Umpire was engaging the most serious attention. Mr AY. C. Anderson ; Labor member for the Attereliffe division ot Sheiiicld) moved the rejection of the Compulsion Mill. Air AA'ill Thome .Labor member tor AVest Ham, South;, protested, amid cheers, that Air Anderson did not represent the Labor Party. Mr Anderson dei led that there was anything like general consent in the House or the country in favor of the ineasnre. There was no evidence of slackers being more than a negligible quantity. Jf the dill was passed it would he impossible to defend the principle of taking an unmarried man of -10 years in preference to a manic 1 man of tlO, therefore we were starting towards universal conscription. He believed. that tlie movement foreboded industrial compulsion. The Hill was the result of ideas germinating in lit. Hon. T). Lloyd Ceorge’-s (Minister for tions) mind. Air Anderson su’d licit the' Mill meant the subjection of the workers to the capitalists. If Air Aquitb proceeded with the Mill he was looking for trouble and-would get it. ft Af.r Redmond (Nationalist leader) intimated that the Nationalists would not- further oppose the .Hill. He bad not changed bis views in regard to the measure. Only the greatc-t national necessity could justify its introduction. Since the division lie and lr,s colleagues found that a purely English Hill had a 10 to one majority in its favor, and the Nationalists felt they would incur a grave responsibility by continuing their opposition. Sir Edward Carson fex-A ttorney-D-eneral and Nationalist member fer Dublin University) said be recognised MV Redmond's sincerity, ami regret ml lie bad l not- gone a step further and allowed .Ireland to be included in the Bill, which bad boon delayed to the last moment. The. Dardanelles undertaking had been admirably conceived, but failed on account of the shortness of men. :Not a single argument bad 'been advanced as to .bow we could carry out the war without men, as an alternative to the arguments used that we would injure this and that industry

hy t:ilciiijr more men. IRELAXD'S EXCLFSTOX. LOXIDOX, .lan. 12. Sir'"Edward Carson continued. "What iloea it -Jill matter so lonjr as we win the war? Tho opponents oi' the Hill an' the nio6't anaemic T have ovvr known. " The question of industrial compulsion requires examination as to whether ii will do more harm than good, but ii it will shorten the war why shirk it ?" He would not shirk the conscription ot property if it was needful. He wa* profoundly disappointed with the Coalition Covernmont for excluding: Ireland. which had not done half as well as 'Britain in the matter of recruiting. MEN IX IRELAXD. LOX'DOX. Jan. VJ. In the House of Commons Rt. Hon. A. Birrell (Secretary i'or I rolnmh . said i A he estimated that there were -lOO.OOll: unattested unmarried men of military j in Ireland, ot whom were '■ engaged in agricultural and 20,000 in munitions and .shipyard work, audi 10,000 in railway and seafaring occupations. Altogether the necessary redne-] turn* left a residue of KO,OW. MUNITIONS BILL IN THE LOR!?S. SECOND BEADIXO CARRIF.D. LO.V.DOX, .lan. 12. The House of Lords parsed ih<' se;- ( ond reading of the 'Munitions Hill. I