The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1916. A REAL WAR CABINET

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2948, 7 December 1916, Page 6

The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1916. A REAL WAR CABINET

With the resignation of Mk. Asquith, the first real step towards the formation of a strong and active War Ministry in Britain has been taken. Mk. Asquith's influence in political circles has been so powerful in the past that his retirement affords a guide in measuring the strength of the movement against a continuance of existing conditions, and shows how strong and determined tho opposition to the policy and methods of the Government under his control has grown. The failure of Me. Asquith and his more intimate associates, in Ihe Cabinet has been largely due .to inability to adjust themselves to war conditions. They appear to have been hampered throughout by their_ fear of transgressing against political principles and theories which they have worshipped in timo of peace, and by a lack of courage in grappling with the emergencies which nave_ arisen out of the war, more especially where such emergencies have called for prompt and bold action involving departure from custom or tradition. Many of the charges levelled against tho Asquith Government have been unjust. The Ministry has been blamed failures and shortcomings duo to lack of preparation for which it 1 could not be fairly held responsible. But the accumulating mass of evidence indicative of the tendency to temporise and hesitate in action, and to smother up in words the necessity for deeds, has slowly brought widespread conviction of the need for a War Ministry with greater _ driving power, quicker adaptability to the changing conditionsj and single-minded in its de-l termination to prosecute the war with all the energy and might that Britain can throw into the scale. No one can fail to recognise that from the outset of the war we have suffered disappointment after disappointment, not from any lack of patriotism on the part of the people or of courage and skill on- the part of our soldiers and sailors, but because of the inability of the leaders of the nation to rise to the greatness of the occasion promptly and boldly.

Rightly or wrongly, Mr. Asquith has been credited with a large share of the responsibility for this. He has been a brake on "the energy and enterprise of the bolder and more thorough-going members of tho Cabinet, and he has encouraged the temporising of the timid and tho conservatism of the hidebound stickler for precedent and practice. It, is true that at times he has rendered valuable service as a medium of conciliation in reconciling conflicting elements in political circles, but no stretch of imagination can picture him as a live and active force rousing and inspiring the people by the courage and boldness of his own policy and_ actions as their leader, and sweeping aside obstacles and hindrances to the full success of the nation's power by the magic of his patriotic fervour and indomitable spirit. In times of peace, Mr. Asquitii was a good party leader; in this time of war he has shown himself lacking in many of the qualities essential to the furtherance of the national interests.: It is doubtful whether Mr. Lloyd George, the man who best fills tho eye as his successor, will become Prime Minister in the immediate future. Probably, in view of the circumstances which have led up to Mr. Asquith's resignation, ho might prefer not to take the office. Mr. Bonar Law apparently will become Prime Minister, but Mr. Lloyd George will bo the moving spirit in the new Government; and with a small War Council with extensive powers, we. may expect a stronger and more enterprising and more effective war policy. The proposal regarding Ireland credited this morning to Sir Edward Carson is an indication of the class of nian and the kind of thing we should look for and expect in our leaders in a time of great crisis. It is a Vld an d daring proposal to in one stroke reconcilc the differences in Ireland, render a great scrvico to the Empire, and eradicate a dangerous causo of internal dissension. Sir Edward Carson, the Daily Chronicle states, would give Ireland Homo Rule with Ulster thrown in, on the'condition that Ireland agrees to conscription. If this story he true, it says as much for Sir Edward Carson's patriotism and power of self-sacrifice as it does for his capacity and courage. At time of writing nothing definite is to hand regarding tho political situation in Britain, beyond the fact of Mr. Asquith's resignation, but we aro justified from the available comments to look forward hopefully to the formation of a strong War Ministry under Mr. Bonar Law.