The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1916. UNYIELDING AND THOROUGH

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2957, 21 December 1916, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1916. UNYIELDING AND THOROUGH

■, The great speech of the new British Prime Minister, published this morning, may lack the scholarly flavour, tho fine periods, and the polished oratorical touches of Mr. Asquith, but it breathes a spirit of unyielding resolution, indicates tho vigorous enforcement of a bold and sweeping policy to ensure tho utilising of the whole of tho resources of the, nation to the best advantage, and quickens confidence by its frank 1 admission of the tremendous nature of tho task_ ahead and the unflinch-, ing determination evidenced in the! measures proposed to overcome the enemy. Me. Lloyd George has declared his and his Government's intentions in regard to the prosecution of the war with a clearness and "definitcness that can leave no room for doubt of any kind. But ho has gone further. With a courage that should inspire the timid and win the admiration of tho bold, he has, without qualification or reservation, announced his intention to make! calls on the patriotism of the people of Britain which will entail heavy financial sacrifices, and, what is more- important still, sacrifice of 'traditional ideas and habits of life cherished for • generations past. It will be cheering, news to every pat- j riotic British' subject, for it affords | tho 'clearest possible evidence that tho day of temporising has passed;: that the strong man so badly needed by Britain has taken charge, and that no means will bo- spared, no resource left untapped, to hasten the day of victory. More stringent food regulations are to be imposed; a greater share of excess war profits is to be taken by the State; and, most impressive of,all, universal national service is to bo made a real thing. The State is not only to claim the service of fit men for the Army and _ Navy, but all men not I used for military duties will be employed as may be found best on national work of some other nature. It is a great step forward. A Director of Civil, Military, and National | Service is to be appointed, to ensure that tho man-power of the nation is used to tho best advantage, and Parliament is to bo asked for further powers if tho man supply available under the existing National Service Act should prove insufficient to meet the requirements ahead. The importance of these proposals is great, but greater still is the disclosure they make of the spirit in which tho iv-w Government is facing tho task with which it has been entrusted. It has been made clear beyond all shadow of doubt that for our own safety and future peaceful development wc and our Allies must win this war decisively; wo have been told by those best able to judge that we can without question win the war if we exert ourselves sufficiently. Mr. Lloyd George is now boldly taking the steps necessary to ensure that that victory shall be gained, and gained as speedily as possible. Nothing in tho .way of national effort, wo gather from his speech, is to bo lost; nothing is to bo allowed to obstruct the path to victory. In dealing with Germany's peace overtures, tho Prime Minister was placed at a disadvantage. He plainly felt the responsibility which rested on him in deciding, practically as his first important action after assuming office, the terms in which he must make answer to tho insidious attempt of the enemy to cast the onus for the continuance of tho war on Britain and her Allies. The answer he has given meets the situation in all its bearings. Ho has once more placed the responsibility for the war on tho right shoulders; he has once more made it clear to Germany and to the whole world that wo are not to be ontrapped into a peace which would relieve Germany of her obligation to make such reparation as may lie within her power for her ghastly crimes; ho has once rooro seized'tho

occasion to emphasise the solidarity ot the Allied Powers, the inflexibility of their common determination tp l'itl Europe and tho world of a menace which has darkened the lives and.-crippled tho peaceful development or all Germany's near neighbours for half a century. The report ofMit. Lloyd Gkoiige's references to the recent peace proposals, condensed as it is in the form it has reached üb, makes it clear that whatever Germany had hoped to gain from HEnn, Bbthmann Holmveg's overtures, they have failed to obscure the past criminalities of the Untral. Powers, and failed to disclose a single sign of weakening or lack of unity on the part of the hntcnte Powers. Equally discouraging from the enemy's standpoint is tho spirited and stirring reference to the Jossous of the struggle on the Western front; tho story of the making arid the- testing of Britain's Now Army. The action of tho tjovemment in connection with the situation in Greece, and the quick daoison to take tho overseas Dominlions into closer confidence in reference to the. war, we may hope are out further indications of the readiness of Mb. Lloyd George and his coi leagues to act when occasion demands, -with promptness and with , The speech as a whole is full of hope and encouragement; stimulating and heartening. It makes call for further sacrifices, but it inspires confidence that the sacrifices when made will not be'wasted. 1 here is a tone of decision about the speech; it gives tho impression, of force and energy, of a determination to do the things needed and to do them quickly; it suggests tho passing of peace-time circumlocution and dalliance, and the advent of a new era of prompt and practical action; it carries conviction that the new Government will do thingß boldly and courageously, instead of wasting time in talk, and then only half doing them.