Lord Kitcheners review

Satisfactory Progress In the east

Gigantic Battle Imminent

This is not the place to discuss the cabinet reconstruction stories but an editorial in the ‘Birmingham Daily Post’ this morning so well described the attitude of the broad minded majority that it is worth quoting.

‘When the government and the opposition mutually agreed to suspend party politics as the opposition undertook to accord the general support to the Ministry in prosecution of the war it because necessary’ (says the Conservative organ) ‘to recognise as the paramount fact of the moment that the Government were entrusted by the country with the take of combating its enemies and must, therefore, receive the cooperation of all patriotic men irrespective of party of personal likes and dislikes.

‘This position was accepted loyally by the Opposition in Parliament... Unfortunately, however, the leaders of the opposition have not carried whole-heartedly with them certain sections of their party, with the consequence that almost from the beginning of the war there has been a fusillade of carping criticism in some quarters, directed first against Prince Louis of Battenburg, then against Lord Haldane and finally against Mr Winston Churchill.

‘Whatever may have been the object of this criticism the effect has undoubtedly been to weaken the confidence of the country. It has produced disunion where unity was above all things desirable and placed difficulties in the path of the Government which could not but hamper them in the fulfilment of their stupendous task.

‘Whatever may be the difficulties in which the Ministry is placed, we hope they may be overcome without any fundamental change in the principles on which it was agreed in August last that the government of the country should be carried on.

‘A good deal might have been said in favour of a National or Coalition Government at the beginning of the war but we do not feel at all confident that such a Government could now be set up to the advantage of the country.

‘Meanwhile it is desirable that the public should suspend judgement upon the particular matter which has given rise to so many extravagant rumours – a matter which, after all, has no logical bearing upon the suggestions for the formation of a Coalition Government.’

Here, for the time being, the subject may be left. Interest is more profitably centred in Parliamentary actualities – for example, Lord Kitcheners important statements in the House of Lords, last evening.

The speech is given fully elsewhere. All that is necessary to state in this summary is his review of the operations revealed a satisfactory state of things, more particularly (oddly enough) where general opinion located our biggest ask and greatest difficulty.

The war minister was sparing in his adjectives and none of his statements were swathed in cotton wool. It was a plain utterance a speech to be ‘understanded by the people.’ Incidentally be ‘let out’ that our great new armies are going to the front immediately and couple with this a demand for 300,000 more men to occupy the training fields vacated by the socials now due to take part in the coming great offensive.

He also made the important declaration that the German use of poisonous gases is to be countered by the adoption of similar expedients by the Allied Armies.