The Northern Advocate Daily “NORTHLAND FIRST” TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1939. Britain’s War Cabinet

Northern Advocate, 5 September 1939, Page 4

The Northern Advocate Daily “NORTHLAND FIRST”

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1939. Britain’s War Cabinet

Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper

THE successful conduct of a war depends very largely on three things—the spirit of the people, the amount of material and manpower available, and finally on the inspiration given by sound and energetic leadership. >Of the three, the last is perhaps the most important, for without it the first two cannot be sustained for long. It is all important that the affairs of the nation should be guided in such a period of emergency by men of courage and imagination, yet those romantic qualities must be tempered by foresight, prudence, judgment, and even at times by caution. In'view of these considerations, therefore, the composition of the British War Cabinet, as announced yesterday, is of the utmost importance. Victory in the war, and not merely the future of the British Empire, but the future of democratic ideals in the civilised world,, may well depend on the nine men who are to serve under Mr. Neville Chamberlain in this critical period. At the outset, it may be said, without any qualification, that it is a satisfactory selection which appears to contain all the necessary elements of strategic vision coupled with organising ability and prudent judgment. Divisions of political opinion have been set aside in order to introduce such men as Mr. Winston Churchill and Mr. Anthony Eden into the Cabinet. Both these ministers have had serious difficulty with Mr. Chamberlain on matters of foreign policy, but no lingering personal animosities—if there are any—have been allowed to prevent the appointment of the strongest possible team of ministers, Mr. Churchill returns romantically to the post which he held at the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. On that occasion he was responsible for keeping the British Fleet virtually mobilised after its annual manoeuvres, and therefore the outbreak of war found it in a state of complete preparedness. His judgment was perhaps at fault in ordering the Antwerp naval expedition* in which he took a personal part, and after the war he lost caste to some extent by sponsoring irresponsible and costly expeditions against the Bolsheviks in South Russia, Nevertheless, the brilliance of his strategic conceptions, his high sense of patriotism, and his singleness of purpose, make him one of the most valuable of wartime Ministers, and there is no doubt that he will give goqd service again. Mr. Anthony Eden possesses, in the public eye, many of those qualities for which Mr. Churchill is noted. As an officer in the last war, he distinguished himself by his personal bravery, and the fact that he, Lord Hankey, Sir Samuel Hoare, Viscount Halifax and Mr. Churchill all had active service, in some capacity or other, in the Great War, seems that the Cabinet will have a very real appreciation of the practical necessities governing warfare in the field. At the head of the War Cabinet stands Mr. Chamberlain. It was obvious from the Prime Minister’s speech on Sunday night, when he said he had nd knowledge of what part he might be called upon to play in the coming struggle, that as a matter of personal choice such a task is the last he would wish to shoulder; he is a man of peace, not of war. But his high sense of duty could not permit him to lay down his responsibilities at this time, so he continues in office, and no doubt will apply a sobering and stabilising influence on some of his colleagues who might be disposed to enter upon rash and perhaps costly adventures. It is certain, too, that Mr. Chamberlain' will lose no opportunity of obtaining an early peace, if peace can be gained without sacrificing those principles for which France and Britain are fighting. ‘ . . . . Mr. Lloyd George, whose driving energy made him the outstanding • -British political figure in the last war, is a spectator. Still a merajber of the House of Commons, he is now 76 years of age. The members of the present War Cabinet may accept him as the pattern which the British public would wish to see followed. Until Mr. Lloyd George became Prime Minister on December 9, 1916, the British war policy was confused and irresolute. After that it was animated by a new spirit of determination —a spirit with which the 1939 War Cabinet appears strongly imbued.