PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2758, 29 April 1916, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

At an immediate view, tho news that the Compulsion Bill was introduced in the House of Commons only to be withdrawn is startling, but tho actual position seems to be that the Imperial Government has yielded to a demand for more drastic action than it had proposed—a demand, in fact, for goneral, compulsion, without any further delay or time-wasting. The Bill introduced embodied the Government, proposals outlined by Mr. Asquith in' a speech reported in The Dominion on Thursday. There were first of all minor proposals, relating to the prolongation of the service of timDexpired men, the~transfer of Territorials, limitation of. exemptions, and the enrolment- of youths as they reach military age. Hcgarding the more important matter of tho enlistment of married men, the Government proposed an attempt to obtain the men required by voluntary enlistment of unattested married men. The Government, Me. Asquith stated, would ask Parliament for powers of compulsion if, after a month ending May 27, 50,000 unattested married men were not secured by direct enlistment, and if in any week after May 27 15,000 men had not been secured by direct enlistment. These arrangements were to hold good until 200,000 unattested married men had been obtained.

It is these provisions relating to married men which have been so powerfully opposed -as, to compel the withdrawal of the_ Compulsion Bill.. That the opposition was justified is not open, to question. Mr. Asquith docs not seem to have attempted to show that the proposals he outlined were sound in principle and satisfied the demands of justice ,and equity. 'Certainly he could not have succeeded in doing so if he had made the attempt. The justification given for the proposals was military necessity. The need for men is -absolute.and the Government proposed to satisfy the need, not by boldly resorting to general compulsion, but by an attempt to stimulate the voluntary enlistment of married men by a threat of the early adoption of general compulsion if the required numbers were not obtained by voluntary enlistment. The only merit of this proposal was that it seemed to make the early introduction of, general compulsion inevitable, On that account the hesitation and timidity it betrayed might, in some circumstances, have been allowed to pass. In viow of the extreme and opposed opinions which obtain in Great Britain on the subject, of compulsion a compromise might' conceivably be entitled to a measure of consideration to which it is not entitled on its merits. At the same time it is wholly a matter for congratulation that a powerful'section of the House of Commons has thrust the compromise aside and demanded a more straightforward, treatment of the recruiting problem.. Sir Edward Carson did not go too far in denouncing the Government Bill as unfair, illogical and unreasonable. • It amounted in fact to a. proposal to work the willing horse to death—to rely upon the patriotism of a proportion of the attested and unattested married men leading them to enlist, irrespective of all considerations of justice and equity. General compulsion will mean that married men will be enlisted on just and orderly lines, each\ class being called up in its proper turn, and there is no otfier method by which the ends of justice can be satisfied.

Exactly what is to follow upon the rejection of the Government proposals has yet.to appear, but it is to be hoped that the keynote of future action was .sounded in the cheers which greeted the demand made by Mr. Stephen Walsh—a Labour member, by the way—for general compulsion. ■. If any ground lor uneasiness exists, it appears in the statement _ that the Bill was withdrawn owing to tho opposition, not of the compulsionists only, but of the volunfcaryists. It seems almost inconceivable, however, that the Government should now retrace its steps, and a very short, step forward would bring it to general compulsion. New proposals are to bo introduced forthwith, which presumably will be attuned to the temper of the House of Commons. Upon the character of these proposals at least as much depends as upon the fate of a great battle. At this stage in the war there is no room either for temporising _ or for political discord. Splitting on the compulsion issue in such a way as to impede the progress of recruiting, the politicians ' would be guilty of betraying the men in the trenches and injuring the general Allied cause. On the other hand united agreement upon the only policy which will meet the emergency wouldbe an inspiring proof to our Allies, and an assurance to tho enemy that Britain is capable of subordinating all other considerations' to tho supreme end and aim of winning the war.

It is said that a German com-mumqne-\\as been issued which states that the fortress of Verdun will be captured, whatever it costs. Such a statement docs nob necessarily mean that "the attempt foreshadowed will bo made, but it is quite clearly recognised that the Germans arc capable of capturing A r erdun at a price, always provided that the Allies abstain from counter-action elsewhere which would, compel a distribution . of enemv forces. Meantime we know

that the essential defences of the fortress area are intact, and with matters at this point it is stated that the enemy losses at Verdun to date are "confidently believed" to have reached a total of 280,000 men. The estimate does not seem extravagant when it is remembered that tho Germans have now been assaulting Verdun with little intermission during a space of ten weeks. Indeed, this late estimate implies that some of those submitted at earlier stages of the offensive were exaggerated. Whether the Germans are prepared to make the further outlay in lives and material which, would give them Verdun, and whether the Allies are likely to leave them the opportunity of doing _ so, remain for the time open questions. But if the quoted estimate, of enemy losses is anywhere near the mark the Germans have already incurved such sacrifices at Verdun as _ must .vitally affect their prospects in tho war. An available force of 280,000 fnen would, for instance, do much to secure their threatened foothold in. the Balkans. Looking at the matter in this light it seems possible that the Allies may welcome an indefinite prolongation of the Verdun, offensive.

. At the moment of writing no remarkable event is reported at Verdun, either east or west of the Meuse'. A number of enemy attacks have been beaten off. On the British front more intense fighting is reported. Reports in hand tell of no permanent change of ground, but there have been raids and counterraids at various points on the front and something in the nature of a pitched battle on -the couple of mile 3 of front from Loos to Hulluch, about midway between Lens and La Baseee. Here the enemy employed poison gas as well as a great volume of artillery fire, and in the event gained a brief tenure of British frontline and support trenches east and north-east of Loos. Tho. Germans were ejected in half an hour, Sir Douglas Haig reports, by Irish troops. That the British line was temporarily penetrated suggests a certain similarity to the conditions which obtained at Verdun in tho early stages of the German offensive, but the comparison is capablo of only limited application. ' The French at Verdun sacrificed no essential advantage in falling • back from thinly-held advanced lines to their main line of defence, but, in the neighbourhood oi Loos the British are posted in a hard-won vantage point from which they closely threaten the enemy's communication railways. It is not likely that ground will bo yielded at Loos savo under irresistible pressure.

Reasons have been often stated for regarding the enemy's Western offensive as an indication that he is dominated by an anxiety to achievedecisive success before the Allies ari ready for concerted offensive action on all fronts. These reasons apply unreservedly to such attacks as have been made by the Austrians upon the Italiair front at- Selz, a few miles north of the Adriatic., The Austrians are immensely favoured by natural conditions. They are everywhere holding a frontier defensive line into which the Italians can penetrate only at considerable cost. That in these circumstances the Austrians should waste men in such vio lent and unsuccessful attacks as they made at Selz suggests that they look to a time when failing resources will make the defence of their mountain frontier a harder, task than it is now. ,'■ ■

What detail news of tho Irish insurrection is available amply justifies Mr. Asquith's statement that i.the situation is still serious. One of 'the later messages states that while street fighting continues in Dublin, the movement appears to be spreading, especially in the west. This is 'somewhat alarming and not less so on account of tho vagueness with which the facts are/traversed. Ono plain necessity of the situation is that, more definite and.explicit reports should be issued with as little delay as possible. The character of the current news is calculated to strengthen the hands of the traitors and conspirators in ' the United States and elsewhere who have been stimulated by the Irish outbreak in activities prejudicial to Britain and her Allies. At the same time the vagueness of tho news will make it somewhat difficult for people in Allied countries to unreservedly accept Mr\ Asquith's statement tfiat this doplorablo and detestable movement has no sympathy in any responsible Irish quarter... It was remarked by Mr. Asquith that Sir Edward Carson and Mr. Eedhond had _ made this clear, and certainly the' loyal assurances of the Irish leaders will do a great deal to clear the air, but it .is none . the less necessary that the x revolt should be as quickly as possible made manifest in its true proportions and put down with a strong hand. In its indirect effects abroad the insurrection is likely to work even greater harm than in its direct results in Ireland, and thero is an evident need for plain, speaking as well as for vigorous action. Pending the final suppression of the revolt, and this as news stands may take a little time, absolute frankness is the only possible antidote to such a campaign' of mendacity as the' Sinn Fein is conducting in America. That the Imperial Government has invited the reigning troubles in Ireland by its feeble and inept government of the country is not open to question, but it seems now to be a'cting with something like the vigour the situation demands. 'Sir John Maxwell, until, recently in command of the British, forces in Egypt, has been invested with plenary powers in suppressing the revolt, and Mr. Asquith assured tho House of Commons that adequate forces had been placed at General Maxwell's disposal.

The actual scope of the insurrection cannot yet bo estimated with any certainty. The active elements of the Sinn Fein are said to number only' 3000, but their dupes are far more numerous. Rifles are plentiful in Ireland, with its various armed volunteer organisations, and the estimate of strength just quoted may easily mean that anything from ten to twenty thousand armed men are afoot and setting the law at defiance. The-interception of the German auxiliary which sought to land arms on the west coast, and the capture of tho traitor Casement, amounted to a coup which must have disconcerted the rebels, but manifestly they arc stillposxesscd of considerable resources, However, tho insurrection may collapse almost as quickly as it has reared its head if the military authorities act with promptness and decision. The proclamation of martial - law throughout all Ireland is the most convincing indication yet afforded that the Government is facing the situation with 'resolute determination.

. The Press Bureau repeats without comment an announcement that the British submarine E22 was sunk in the North Sea, with the loss of all save two of her complement. Probably, therefore, the announcement is founded on fact. Much as an event of this kind must be regretted there is no reason to suppose that British submarine losses have reached such proportions as to materially affect the ' strength of the flotillas. At one time and another the Admiralty has reported the loss of seven submarines, by misadventure or the act of the enemy, in various, localities from the Sea' of Marmora to the coast of Denmark! The sinking of E-22 brings the number to eight. This is not a big total when it is remembered what a vast amount of dangerous service British su.bmarI incs have engaged in. Britain had more than twice as many submarines as Germany when the war began, and it is likely that she still has a considerable numerical superiority. Though their exploits in the Sea of Marmora and m the Baltic have not passed without notice, less has been heard of the British submarines than of the piratical under-sea; boats of the German Navy, but the British craft havo j been continuously engaged in perilous service—notaoly in patrolling the enemy's coastal Waters—and the limited total of known locses indicates that they have* done their work with admirable skill as well as with infinite daring. It has been suggested that Admiralty announcements possibly do not completely cover our submarine losses; for instance, that the official list may not include submarines lost" by misadventure in circumstances unknown to the enemy; but this point seems, to be met by the fact that the loss of the Australian boat AEl' was announced though it could not otherwise have become known to the enemy.. E22 would be one of the latest boats in commission at the outbreak of war, though yet more powerful submarines have since been turned out from the Writish yards, probably in considerable numbers.

If a report from Amsterdam can he taken on trust, E22 has not gone unavenged. The report states that a German submarine was shelled and sunk in the North Sea by a disguisod BritfsTl patrol boat. Very pro--bnbiy the story is true. We havo heard* a good deal lately about German skill in disguising ships .und outwitting hostile forces, but it is tolerably certain that where such devices are concerned the Germans have a good 'deal to learn from the British Navy.