THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, JULY 23, 1918. BRITAIN'S PRIME MINISTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16909, 23 July 1918, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, JULY 23, 1918. BRITAIN'S PRIME MINISTER.

J A:uoj?g the British statesmen who have borne the burden of Empire in these strenuous days none more deserves the thanks of the nation than the present Prime Minister, Mr. Lloyd Goorge. He came to this eminence after yeoman service in minor posts of responsibility. His selection ten years ago as Chancellor of the Exchequer created little surprise, in view of the great name he had earned at the Board of Trade, and that selection was further justified by far-reaching proposals in taxation reform. The war came before these could be fully developed ; and in the resulting Coalition Cabinet he was given the new portfolio of Munitions. Before the struggle entered its third year he was Secretary of State for War, in succession to Lord Kitchener. The resignation of the Coalition Ministry in December of 1916 led to his being called as Prime Minister to form a new Government. The mere recital of these steps in an unchecked advance in responsibility impresses the facts that the national need found him equipped for supremely important duty, and that the national trust was confidently reposed in him. He has made a reputation for courageous statesmanship that will live in history. The best proof of his success as Prime Minister is fur- | nished by the hatred he has evoked j from official Germany. That hatred has been growingly bitter and frenzied and unsfcrupulous. It has stopped short of nothing to achieve his downfall, and evidence is accumulating to convict it of studied attempts to corrupt British politics, in an endeavour to secure that downfall.

At all events there has been exposed what is in effect a petty British partisanship in a dastardly enemy programme. Whatever be the actual origin of the campaign of calumny to which Mr. Lloyd George has been recently subjected, it 'is certain that those engaging it have been playing the enemy's game, and that they deserve the righteous reprobation of every loyal citizen. The methods chosen have included a lavishly financed attempt to induce needy British! provincial newspapers to print as ordinary articles, without any indication that they are not the considered opinions of the papers publishing j;hem, insidious attacks upon the Prime Minister. Another phase of the campaign against Mr. Lloyd George has appeared in the actions of Colonel Repington, who, although at one time a brilliant writer of military articles, has, in the words of the judge fining him in February last for publishing an article notoriously helpful to the enemy, forgotten to be a good citizen. His attempts to prejudice Mr. Lloyd George in the eyes of M. Clemenceau, to weaken the trust of the allied armies in General Foch, to belittle Lord Milner as Secretary of State for War, and generally to undermine the schemes for unified control of the allied forces, have been reprehensible beyond expression. He has spared no painn to exalt the questionable claims ol others to appointment, and to asperse the chosen of the Versailles Council. The news of the past few days, indicative of the value of unity of military direction and the skill of the allies' generalissimo, serves to emphasise the perfidious lack of patriotism of such actions. To the adoption of the course he would fain have defeated must be largely attributed the tactical successes achieved by the allies on the western front. The truth of the Maurice affair is also becoming evident. General Maurice was but a cipher, and the Prime Minister's Parliamentary triumph was really the defeat of a conspiracy calculated, if not conceived, to aid the foe.

That the storm passed, leaving the Prime Minister secure in his position, has been a source of gratification and renewed confidence throughout the Empire. He is pre-eminently the man for this hour. It is not claimed that he has made no mistakes. The very right to criticise political leaders a right inalienable to Britishers, rests on the assumption of the human fallibility of those leaders. Consequently, the Prime Minister's traducers can get small "a j

comfort from any minor mistakes he may have committed. No major error has been substantiated. Instead, it has become clearer with the passing of the days that Mr. Lloyd George has been a tower of strength for Britain's cause. These days call for thought n<3fc only sure, but swift. The slow, timid mind will render poor service, if any. "Be bolde, be bolde, and every where, Be bold'' is as timely J. counsel as in Spenser's day. Mr. Lloyd George was ever an unfaltering fighter, displaying throughout his life a characteristic intrepidity that has been a great asset for Britain's cause in this colossal war. The coolness that is linked to his courage has doubly fitted him for leadership. Withal he has been able to exercise, as a leader sprung from the people, an influence peculiarly required in these ievelling days, an influence upon the musses unique and masterly; and his power of ready speech, pliant and keen and flashing as a steel blade, has made that influence invincible on more than one crucial occasion. His ungrudging use of great gifts should never be forgotten. History will assuredly appraise him as a great commoner and most able statesman, and the perpetuation of his memory may safely bo left to posterity. What is of moment now, in the critical days of the war, is that he be given the loyal support of the nation that lias called him to high office.