Rangitikei Advocate. TWO EDITIONS DAILY. THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1916. BRITAIN IN EARNEST.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLI, Issue 11583, 25 May 1916, Page 4

Rangitikei Advocate. TWO EDITIONS DAILY. THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1916. BRITAIN IN EARNEST.

—■» - ! AT lust i’ntaiu may ho sa.ui to bo iu ! tilo war in earnest For nearly I two voars Mr Asquith and otbor non-con seiptionists have turned a i deaf oar to tin 1 demands of tho eouui try that Britain should adopt tbo only logical and ollioiout moans to du what it could towards tbo wiu- ; mug of tbo war, ’With tbo passage I of tbo Military Service Hill, bow- < over, through the House of Lords the i oouutry has assumed its lull Ilahii- ! ity. Of course, at the commence- | incut of tho great struggle no one— I not even or vaunted clever militar- ; isls —had the remotest idea as to the tremendous exertions and tho vast armies which tho war would demand. So unprepared were we for supplying that demand that the British Mar Oilioo was actually embarassed by tho number of recruits who i voluntarily enlisted, because it had i no anus to put into their hands. So I unprepared was that olUce, too, mid

so grossly ignorant of the vast necessities in the way of munitions which would have to be mot, that it evidently inspired Mr Asquith’s declaration at Newcastle, in the early mouths of the war, that the supply of munitions was perfectly satisfactory, when the amount manufactured was only about equal to a thousandth part of what it is to-day. The fact is that nobody had realised the scale upon which the war would he waged except the Germans, although wo were supposed to have a host of men engaged in the SecrefcService and Intelligence Departments, whose duty it was to keep their superiors fully cognisant of military developments throughout the world.

Possibly some misapprehension may be attributed to the fact that we seem to have been originally only committed to the despatch of what was known as the Expeditionary Army, a force of less than two hundred thousand of all arms. It may possibly have been expected that this force and its reinforcements would he all that would be required from us in addition to the incalculable aid which would be contributod by the British Navy, And possibly little more than that would have been our fair share of the war. But there was little time given by the Germans t or misconception on that score. Revelations of the scale of the conflict came early. It soon became quite clear that it was not a time for limiting participation in the war to specific shares in blood or money, and that if we were not content to see tbe armies of Prance and of Russia quickly overwhelmed we must crowd into tbe ranks every man we were capable of arming, Knowing this and noting the shifts and twists of Mr Asquith and a portion of his Cabinet to evade the necessity of conscription, it will be one of the greatest pu“zles of history in a few years why the nation did not, instead of insisting upon a coalition Government, demand the placing at the head of affairs some of tbe strong public men whom the necessities of tbe situation so clearly indicated as tbe most suitable for grappling with the crisis. We have heard little of the public criticisms which must have been current among our allies. They have apparently been very tolerant. But the spectacle they have had before them in Britain, and in one or two of the colonies, of communities wrangling over plain duty and striking on cloudy issues, while the fate of Europe hung in a balance, must have been very trying to their patience.

Two or three days ago it was stated in one of onr cables that a largo number of the most notable French politicians and scientists had decided to give lectures all through France in explanation of what the Allies were domg in the war. It is evident from the fact that such enlightenment is necessary that there exists throughout France a profound impression that the Allies are not helping to the toll extent of their powers. And there can be no doubt that the delay in bringing the full force of the manhood of Britain Into the offensive is responsible for the greater part of that impression, France naturally feels acutely any indications of neglect on the part of its friends. All its men are practically in the tiring line and all its women at drudging work, much of its territory is occupied by the frightful Hun, and its armies are suffering a very agony of assailmeut from the German offensive. We have no doubi that its people will find more comfort from the adoption of conscription in Britain than from the winning of a battle, and the influence of the decision will be felt in different degrees and types of exaction both by friends ami foes throughout all the world. When the daughter nations have followed the example of the mother, if combined we cannot crush, the Hun although we shall have much to grieve for, we shall have nothing to reproach ourselves with. We shall have done what we could to save the moat splendid ideals of sane civilisation, and if we must tail we shall have the satisfaction of knowing that disaster has not fallen upon us because we invited it by onr supiueness and cowardice.