The Dominion. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1915. THE WAR REVIEWED

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2569, 17 September 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1915. THE WAR REVIEWED

A comprehensive survey of the progress of tho war is given in the speeches of Mr. AaQuira and Loud Kitchener, summaries of which will bs found in the cable columns of this issue. The march of events, the present position, and tho outlook aro described in clear and candid words. A note of confidence, but not ovev-con-fulcnce, is sounded. The speeches leave the impression that, taking all things into account, the Allies arc justified in feeling confident of ultimate victory, provided they exert their full strength, Tlw PHros Min= Jeter deals maial# with the Boliticai

aspects of the crises, while the Minister for War explains the situation from the military point of view. No attempt is made to gloss over unpleasant facts or to create the belief that the triumph of Britain and her Allies is a foregone conclusion. No encouragement is given to the mischievous idea that the greatness of the British Empire is assured for all time by some kind of inevitable necessity. In carefully measured words Mr. Asquith declares that "victory seems likely to incline to the side which can arm best and stay the longest." He is confident that Britain means to do this. She certainly can do it, but only if she puts her whole heart and mind into the struggle, utilises her resources to the full, and fights with tho unshakable determination to win. To this end complete unity is necessary. Internal discord at such a time as the present should be unimaginable. The recent rumours of dissensions in the British Cabinet must have created an uneasy feeling throughout tho Empire, and it is satisfactory to finci that there is no hint of dis- | rupfcion in Mr. Asquith's speech. Every- patriotic Britisher will endorse his assertion that "one thing to be deprecated is tho sinister spectre of domestic strife." Let all the fighting we are capable of be directed against the enemy. To . fight among ourselves while our very existence as an Empire is in jeopardy would be nothing short of national madness. Tbc stumbling block of compulsory service is not mentioned by Mb. Asquith. He is justified in expressing, satisfaction at the fact that 3,000,000 men have come forward voluntarily to serve the Empire in the Army and Navy, but more and still more are needed. There has lately been a falling off in the number of recruits. Can a sufficient supply to meet all requirements be maintained on a voluntary basis? Lord Kitchener assures us that "anxious thought" is being devoted to the solution of 'this all-important problem. In the consideration of this matter all. party prejudices should be resolutely brushed aside. The decision must depend upon the military requirements for the prosecution ■of the war and the protection of the Empire, and we do pot doubt—we. dare not—that the nation will be willing to make whatever sacrifices the National Government may consider necessary for the purpose of smashing the power of Germany. Wc are having it brought home to us that the oft-used expression that this war will test our resources to the utmost as regards both men and money is no mere figure of speech. Tho British Parliament's latest vote of £250,000,000 brings the total now voted up to the enormous sum of £1,262,000,000. As a writer in a London journal remarks, such sums defy vital comprehension. The cost of this gigantic war, in which so many millions of people are involved, can only be expressed 'in figures which to the •ordinary mind convey but a vague idea of "a merely meaningless imWhat we must 'realise, however, is that they demand from us the utmost effort of which we as a nation are capable.