Great Britain

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 28, 2 June 1915, Page 5

Great Britain

NATIONAL SERVICE. Times and Sydney Sun Service. London, .May 31 Lord Deuman (former GovernorGeneral of Australia), in .1 Jotter to 'the Times, says,, having the experience of administering t.Ue Government of a great dominion at the t'uie compulsory service came into operation he would venture to refer to national service so urgently needed :n England. In Australia success was generally acknowledged, and surely it' the Labor Government of Australia, where Democracy was farther advanced than in any other country, could in time of peace carry a scheme of compulsory service, the Xational Government at Home should be able to u-painse the manhood for the purpose of war. It was objected to in some quarters that it would favor certain classes, but the experience in Australia proved that no more democratic measure could be placed on the Statute Book. They were told it would disorgan.se trade, but it was precisely because trade must be organised tor war purposes that compulsion was vitally , ecessary. National service would carry a conviction to our Allies and our enemies that the country .vas really in earnest ill the prosecution of the war. The fact that the War Office was accepting men of forty and reducing the height necessary was proof that the voluntary system had broken down. The military correspondent of tne Times says the new meaning of national service involves the whole of the able-bodied population, which inns* come forward and serve, not only in the navy and army, but also in ajry capacity in which their services at. 1 needed. It is useless to possess an army of millions unless the munition factories are fully manned. Our Allies have placed the whole of their able-bodied men in the field, and we cannot endure Britain doing less. A vast work of national organisation lies before the new Goernment, and victory depends on the manner in which it is handled. It is impracticable and unwise to much longer rely on voluntary service, and it is unfair that anyone should he permitted to shirk a share of the national burden and the country's danger. The people must be organised for war, and the existence of national service will only ensure victory. Already there is clear expectation of compulsion. . England has been assailed by ships and aircraft,, and may possibly yet be assailed by troops, whose bases are on the enemy's territory, and they must be attacked at these bases, therefore the whole .strength of the nation must be brought to bear for the defeat of the chief enemy in the principal theatre. The country awaits the call to throw itself into the contest enthusiastically. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. Tiaies and Sydney Sun Service. London, May 31. Sir Edward Grey takes a short holiday owing to eyesight trouble,-, and Earl Crewe will be temporarily at the Foreign Office, Lord Lansdowne assisting. Several thousand hosiery workers at Leicester, mostly employed on Government contracts, struck for an 8 per cent advance. A German soldier, trying to escape at night from the Leigh prison camp, climbed on to the roof of a shed. Sentries thrice ordered him to descend, but as he refused be was shot dead. t't.aui Jißouui/.iiun London, dune 1. The Daily Telegraph's Rotterdam correspondent confirms the British Headquarters' suspicions that the Germans are using explosive bullets. The correspondent states that 2o machiueguiis have been sent to Thiolt equipped with explosive ammunition. The Germans have removed their hospital base at Tournai further back. The latest British list from France contains -10-1 names of men belonging to the Lancashire Fusiliers suffering from gas.