Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, 5 August 1915, Page 21

Current Topics

The New National Temper Mr. Asquith is nothing if not an optimist; and • there is a cheery note in his recent speech in the House of Commons wliich is distinctly reassuring and impressive. To , us at a distance, with the echo of the South Wales strike still in our ears, it has been difficult to believe that even yet the English people realised the \magnitude of the task which confronts them and the gravity of the issues that are at stake. But competent observers on the spot judge differently : and Mr. Asquith’s notable declaration as to the spirit with which the 'nation generally is now facing the crisis is endorsed by such a shrewd and practical man of affairs as Mr. T. P. O’Connor, M.P. ‘I think,’ he says, in a recent article in an English paper, * 1 note a very real change in the temper of our own people. The movement against racing is one sign of this change. The impatience with which the public view any strike is another. The readiness of all classes to apply to their daily habits, even to their daily meals, the same stern self-control which other nations have already exhibited ; all these things, I believe, indicate a greater seriousness of soul, a fuller realisation of the bigness of our job, and also grimmer determination to make any and every sacrifice rather than that we should allow our liberties and our civilisation to go down. ... I am sure that we can safely trust to this spirit to bring us all the additional men and every penny of the money, however gigantic may be the sum, which will be required to push this enterprise to its destined and only possible end. Talking about Ibis war in its early stages to Mr. Lloyd George, I said, “We must set our teeth.’’ “Yes,” he answered, “and if needs be, wo must tighten our belts.” ’ Speeding Up the Munitions Whether Warsaw is held or evacuated, whether Russia makes a stand or is beaten still further back, it must be admitted that the present round in the great fight to a finish is Germany’s. As it would be expressed in prizering parlance, Germany is doing all the leading. She rests wherever she chooses to rest, and by land, at least, forces the fighting when and where she wills, without let or hindrance or interference of any kind from the Allies in the West. The do-nothing policy in France and Flanders is doubtless for the moment inevitable, and it is even possible to accord a measure of admiration to Generals J off re and French lor refusing to be hustled, even by Russia’s desperate plight, into a momentary or sporadic offensive which could not be maintained, and which could have no definite or tangible result except a useless sacrifice of life. At the same time the present situation is, to put it mildly, disappointing. The sky, however, is not all grey, and there are patches of blue that give promise and hope for the future. In the first place, there is the indomitable spirit and splendid tenacity which is being shown by the Russian people. In spite of all the gruelling they • have gotthrough no failure of their own but through default of the Allies, largely due to the bungling of the British War Officethere is neither whine nor whimper, nor wavering of purpose. Bo far from talking of a separate peace, as the Germans appear to have hoped, they are calmly discussing the conditions which will enable them to resume the offensive. An army which, after being driven from pillar to post as /the Russians have been, instead of contemplating its losses is quietly looking forward to taking the aggressive again, is a factor to be relied upon and to be reckoned with. In the second place, there is the cheering intelligence that the supply of ammunition has really been appreciably speeded up, both in England and in America, and particularly in the latter country. Last week we gave particulars of the number and extent of

the foreign orders for war material which had been placed with the leading American firms. There now, comes the welcome news that several of these concerns' are filling and forwarding their orders nearly -a month ahead of contract time. It was not expected that shells, in large quantities would be ready for ship--' ment before the end of July or early in August but we learn from American papers that the kßethelehem Steel Company has been sending out 35,000 loaded three-inch shrapnel shells for the British field artillery every day since Monday, June 21, and it is expected that this daily average will be increased in the near future. The du Pont Powder Company is also delivering considerable shipments of raw explosives, and it is understood that the Stevens Arms Company, whose plant was bought by the Westinghouse Electric Company for the purpose of turning out Lee-Metford rifles for the British army, is beginning to deliver guns for export. The New York I'Jvcni Post, in the last week of June, gave the_ following pleasing picture of what is taking place : 'The shrapnel' and explosives have been going aboard vessels lying in Gravesend Bay, about three miles offshore, for about a week now. Every day huge lighters, flying the red flag, denoting that they carry explosives, may be seen going down the harbor, and as they pass out of the Narrows and head over into Gravesend Bay, the waiting steamers also haul up red flags to warn all shipping to keep away. Sometimes as many as three lighters arc lying around one vessel at once, all busily discharging shells and cases of cordite, dynamite, or melinite into the gaping holds. The ammunition now being delivered is all for the British troops, and is being sent to France, so that no time may be lost in getting it to the firing-line of Field Marshal Sir John French’s army.' So it ts evidently all a question of holding on. and possessing our souls in patience : and in the meantime it is satisfactory to know that things are really moving, Mr. Winston Churchill and the Dardanelles Whenever, in any war, tilings do not turn out as successfully as was anticipated, there is an immediate hunt for a scape-goat; and in the case of the unexpectedly protracted operations at the Dardanelles Mr. Winston Churchill was selected, by almost unanimous consent, as an easy and handy victim. He was abused, denounced, and finally driven from a position in which he had shown singular prescience and administrative capacity of the very highest order. By the brilliant stroke just before the outbreak of hostilities by which he had the British Fleet already mobilised, and was thus enabled to bottle up the German Grand Fleet at Wilhelmshaven, he may be said, without any figure of speech or exaggeration, to have saved the Empire. Through an unexpected turn in political affairs in Greece, which could not have been foreseen and for which he was in no way responsible, an unanticipated hitch occurred in the early operations at the Dardanelles; and the fine service he had already rendered was promptly forgotten by an ungrateful nation. Every one, from the press military expert to the street corner strategist, agreed in declaring that whatever might bo. said, in a general way, in favor of the enterprise, at least he had committed a palpable, glaring, and unpardonable blunder in attempting to carry it out without arranging for a land force to cooperate with the naval effort. It is only fair to Mr. Churchill to say that when the inner history of this daring and dramatic undertaking comes to be written, disclosures will be made which will show that no such course had ever been planned or contemplated by him. An entirely satisfactory arrangement had been made with another Power in' regard to this matter, particulars of which are quite well known to our men in the trenches at Gallipoli and but for the unforeseen defeat of the then Premier of that country, the adventurer would have taken from the first a very different course from that which we have witnessed. In this matter Mr. Churchill was entirely blameless, and in no way deserving of the censure which has so freely—and in ignorance of the factsbeen bestowed upon him.

For the rest, the late head of the Admiralty stands by his guns, and maintains, with -both eloquence and emphasis, that alike from the strategic, the political, and the economic points of view, the Dardanelles undertaking was entirely justified. In the course of a brilliant and powerful address delivered to his constituents at Dundee on Saturday, June 5, he said: ‘ I have two things to say to you about the Dardanelles. First, you must expect losses, bblli by land and sea, but the fleet you are employing there is your surplus fleet after all other needs have been provided for. Had it not been used in this great enterprise it would have'been lying idle in your southern ports. A large number of the old vessels of which it is composed have to be laid up in any case before the end of the year, because their crews are wanted for the enormous reinforcements of the new ships iVhich the industry of your workshops is hurrying into the water. Losses of ships, therefore, as long as the precious lives of the officers and men are saved—which in nearly every case they have been—losses of that kind, I say, may easily be exaggerated in the minds both of friend and foe. Military operations will also be costly, but those who suppose that Lord Kitchener has embarked upon them without narrowly and carefully considering their requirements in relation to all other needs and in regard to the paramount need of our army iii France and Flanders, such people arc mistaken, and not only mistaken, they are presumptuous. My second point is this. In looking at your losses squarely and soberly you must not forget a.t the same time the prize for which you are contending. The army of Sir lan Hamilton, the fleet of Admiral do Robeck are separated only by a few miles from a victory such as this war has not yet seen. When I speak of victory I am not referring to those victories which crowd the daily placards of any newspapers. 1 am speaking of victory in the sense of the brilliant and formidable fact shaping the destinies of nations, and shortening the duration of the war. Beyond those few miles of ridge and scrub on which our soldiers, our French comrades, our gallant Australians, and our New Zealand fellow-subjects are now battering lie the downfall of a hostile empire, the destruction of an enemv’s fleet and army, the fall of a world-famous capital, and probably the accession of powerful allies. The struggle will be heavy, the risks enormous, the losses cruel, but victory when it comes will make amends for all. There never was a great subsidiary operation of war in which a more -Complete harmony of strategic, political, and economic ‘advantages were combined, or which stood in truer relation to the main decision, which is in the centra! theatre. Through the Narrows of the Dardanelles, and across the ridges of the Gallipoli Peninsula, lie some of the shortest paths to triumph and peace.’ To which we can only respond, So mav it be ! Mr. Redmond’s Position When the cabled news of the formation of the British Coalition Ministry first reached us, certain of our newspapers indulged in some spread-eagle journalism which is made to appear rather foolish in the light of a fuller knowledge of the facts. The Christchurch Press , for example, denounced Mr. Redmond as not sharing the feeling of the nation in relation to the war because he declined to take a position in the Cabinet, pictured Sir Edward Carson as the glowing patriot rushing to immolate himself on the altar of sacrifice, and announced that the formation of the new Ministry had been received throughout the Empire with a thrill of pride. We now know that all this ‘high-falutin’ ’ was the merest humbug. We know from the fuller particulars given in the Home papers that Sir Edward Carson at first flatly refused to have anything to do with the Coalition Cabinet, and only yielded to urgent personal pressure from Mr. Asquith. We know that the formation of the new Ministry was received with a thrill not of pride but of misgiving, and in some quarters even of dismay. Earnest Liberals asked almost angrily why their house had been burned down in order to save the Daily Mail. The personnel of the Cabinet was freely criticised, the inclusion of Sir Edward Carson, in particular, forming

the subject of scathing comment. ‘That such a man as Sir Edward Carson should he in the Cabinet at all is deplorable; that he should be Attorney-General will be felt by millions of law-abiding citizens to be a scandal,’ said the Daily Chronicle. ‘ The inclusion of Sir Edward Carson as a Law Officer of the Crown is at first sight a vivid example of poacher turned game-keeper,’ said the Westminster Gazette. -ft '/i . As to Mr. Redmond, his action, while it was regretted on all hands, was subjected to none of the smallsouled carping which it received* from the Christchurch paper ; and his motives and attitude were frankly recognised by the Prime Minister as high and hdnorable. Mr. Redmond explained, simply and straightforwardly, that it was part of the traditional and accepted policy of the Irish Party from the days of Parnell that none of its members should accept office under the British Government until Ireland had obtained Home Rule, and that, while he would heartily and loyally support the Government during the war crisis, he felt himself in honor bound by that time-honored pledge. As a matter of fact, it was clear, on reflection, that he could serve the Empire "more effectually by remaining outside than by taking a place inside the Cabinet; and this point of view was brought out in masterly fashion by his colleague, Mr. T. P. O’Connor, M.P. Mr. O’Connor’s statement is so admirably expressed that wo make no apology for quoting it in full : ‘ 1 was unable to attend the meeting of the Irish Party in Dublin, but entirely approve of Mr. Redmond’s refusal to take office. 1 do so, not merely from the Irish, but from the Imperial point of view, from the point of view also of the overmastering necessities of carrying on an effective and successful war. It is much more the duty of Mr. Redmond at. this time of crisis to maintain the Imperial unity at which we have so happily arrived, by continuing his noble work of rallying the Irish nation and the Irish race to the support of the Allies, than to fulfil the business, however high, of any great Department in the State. TI is judgment, his courage, his prudence, have given him a unique place to-day in the confidence of his countrymen : no leader ever held a position more unassailable. That leadership means that he has the moral responsibility for the governance of Ireland more than any other man in the Empire. A tribune of the people, he is as much a ruler of the people by their confidence and affection as- if he were a right honorable and a Cabinet Minister. Without official position, without honorary titles. Mr. Redmond is to-day Minister for Ireland. As such he can be of incalculable assistance to the Cabinet in carrying on the war successfully. What Mr. Redmond then had to consider was whether he could fulfil that great office to the Irish people, and to the Empire, and to the Allies, better inside or outside the Cabinet. He thought he could do it better outside than inside the Cabinet. I think so too. I hope, therefore, that his action will be properly understood in this country and throughout the Empire that above all, it will be realised that lie was great and unselfish enough to reject all the glitter of high position on the patriotic ground that he could thus best serve the threatened cause of civilisation and of liberty.’ * It remains only to add a word regarding the position of Mr. Redmond and the Nationalists in respect to the proposed appointment of Mr. J. H. Campbell to the Lord High Chancellorship of Ireland. The Nationalist objection was partly personal to the man, as has been already explained by a correspondent in our columns, and was partly based on the special importance of the office which it was sought to hand over to this violent and offensive partisan. The Lord Chancellor of Ireland does not hold a merely nominal office ; he is one of the chief executive persons of the Irish Government. As Chancellor, he makes the nominations to all judicial and magisterial offices ; and as the administration is already in the hands of Sir Matthew Nathan, who is acceptable only to the Ulsterites, Mr. Campbell’s appointment would have given the whole

Government of Ireland to the avowed and bitter enemies of Home Rule. According to well-informed report, Mr. Redmond was not offered the Irish Chief Secretaryship when he was invited into the Cabinet, because the Unionists objected to' a Nationalist leader having any administrative power over the Unionists of Ireland. Mr. Asquith deferred to the Unionist objection, and offered Mr. Redmond only the Postmaster-Generalship, a position in which he could have nothing to say to Irish administration. Under the circumstances, the Irish Party’s corresponding objection to allow the Nationalists of Ireland to be handed over to the tender mercies of Mr. Campbell was irresistible; and they only did the least that might have been expected from them in making it perfectly clear that the appointment would have to be withdrawn.;