Great Britain

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 17, 18 September 1915, Page 5

Great Britain

CONSCRIPTION. I ' ' I |! \, .. ji ... United. PB^ft ; A,sj?ooiATiois. , ; ( ; .] .' i ■ London, ; sep,teinber .16.-. i In the House of Commons, on the, discussion of. the, credit vote, Qolonel Arthur Leo said he would Hot advocate compulsory recruiting.'i. Thei Alii lies, '.hovVerav 'could i not .achieve vici tory 'without much greater j forces,, md we were'the only nation able to supply extra' nien. The*'-present■ Munitions Act showed ! that it : wa s impossible to coerce 200,000 men, and what was go- . ing to happen if we tried to coerce three million? 1 If they wanted industJ'ial revolution let them proceed with the conscription agitation. He denied that the voluntary system w,as a failure; the workers, were spending then: ' liFe'-MMd'iojcrush Prussian .militarism, anil let that he .accomplished by the 'freedom of' the British people. Th? conscription;methods were, odious and unjflst. ' j ww«<a«M«w« Hon; Sir P. R. Whittaker said the ! agitation was an attesmp%B lHislitfthe Government, and he protested against 1 soldiers assisting in a tion that'was, fostered by a section of 1 the press.• ~•• Mr J: H. Thomas (Labor M.P, for Derby) said the last soldier had already been taken from the miners and railway workers, and J there was a shortage of agriculture and munition workers ;and in order that the supporters of national service should consider what might happen, every lodge and railway union had informed the executive that up to the introduction of the measure they would stop, with their past experience. Mr G. Cave did not believe that MiThomas had accurately represented the workers' feelings. The point to be determined, and he hoped it would be deterrnin'etl promptly, was whether the existing system would yield sufficient recruits. j Mr Llewellyn Williams said that any decline in recruiting would be due to the present controversy. Sir H. Craig denounced the Government for shillyshallying on the question. Mr Ellis Griffith said that national service was founded on justice, and thp obligation to defend the country should fall equally on all. Mr J. D. Millar declared that the debate was futile, in the absence of any definite lead from the Government. Mr Lief Jones said. that the voluntary system had justified itself,/and it would be. madness ,to plunge into the unknown when the step might have fatal consquences. Mr Whitehouse said that the gramophone press which had kindled this agitation ' had' greatly misrepresented public opinion. Sir Ivor Herbert did not believe in the menace of industrial revolution, prophesying that if such did occur, it would be the end of trade unionism.

Mr Llewellyn Williams accepted the warning, but believed that, even if Parliament unanimously adopted compulsion, it would be unable to enforce it upon the hosts of unwilling citizens with' strong conscientious objections. Ifj, however, the Government adduced evidence as to the necessity, he would accept compulsion. intimately the Consolidated Fund Bill was read a first time. Mr Asquith and Mr Churchill entered during Mr Thomas' speech, and listened to its end with marked attention. Mr Thomas' speech was a feature or

the debate, speaking like a. torrent, excitedly and passionately, and with a tremendous sincerity which startled the House. While foreshadowing the stoppage of railways in the event of the enforcement of compulsion, he did not pretend to justify such an action. He frankly emphasised the difficulty, even now, of controlling the railwaymen's unrest, and implored the House not to increase the difficulty. He declared bluntly that the workers are suspicious of many o.' the advocates of conscription, and they suspected some ulterior motive. "What's the game?" he shouted. "Is it to remove the Prime Minister?" (Loud Radical cheers). Tne Prime .Minister, he continued, could not be replaced in this national crisis, and the Labor Party would rally to his support if, on the other hand, there was no intrigue in the agitation, but only honest belief that the war could not be won by other means than the present system. He repeated his warnings that conscriptionists would split the nation at a time when labor leaders required to concentrate all their efforts towards maintaining industrial peace.

Referring to the possible attempt to remove the Prime Minister, he asked: "Suppose you force an election, and suppose you win, will you use soldiers against the minority, with food up 35 per cent?" The Times says that Mr Thomas' ihint as to the possibility of an election is the first reference in the Commons, although the matter has been frequently discussed in the lobby. A new group, drawn from Unionists and Liberals, represents the first attempt since the formation of the Coalition Government to give organised expression to what in peace time would be regarded as an opposition policy. ' The Daily News lobbyist says that the country is faced with a political crisis of the first magnitude. Mr Lloyd George, replying to the Coventry Labor Committee's denial that they had circularised workmen declaring against rapidity of work, quotes a letter signed by the secretary of the committee calling his fellow workmen non-workmen because they finished in 8i hours a job on a howitzer which normally took 31 i hours. It was a regrettable instance among many' wherein the war workers were discouraged in assisting the country by doing their ; \itmost. hi the hour of need.

The Workers' National Committee adopted'a jresolution opposing compulsory military, still more industrial service, ' especially ■ if establishments .wore run for private' profit, where 'trade union's were powerless b'regulate the condition of wages. •/' .iti : i;i ,il .1 •,",) .•!■;; «>■!.•• H ■ ; ''" ;i ' : - l-r ■ • ■ ■■■''! ■ <.r. it! i) " ;*' i, ' : jii ill/ .: •; il/ i .-... 1 j NtWSRAPERi COMMENT.) (Received 8.30 a.m.) London, September 17. The Pall Mall Gazette, commenting on Mr Thomas' speech, protests that the State is paying blackmail, and urges the adoption of force if necessary to ayoid traitor ..dictatorship. | .The.' .Westminster Gazette infers: to. the insanity of an appeal tQ,the cqiin-, try respecting conscription, M e would be, the laughting ,of ■ the enemy and!the Allies. The test ot diplomacy' is between war and pontics., .Fprcefulness. is Mr Lloyd George's temperament, and it is impossible that he could dynamite the Cabinetj and, rush the conflict to the working classes. The idea ot using compulsion for labour should liaye been avoided. The men's distrust m conscription should be converted by Ms Asquith, backed by Lord kitchener and the united Cabinet. Leaders who object to military industrial com. pulsion should help to increase the output from the workshops. The countary should have a more careful method* of recruiting and thus avoid indiscriminate volunteering.

,'CONSCRIPTIONISTS IN THE CABINET. (Received 8.30 a.m.) London, September 17. The Daily News states that a minority of the Cabinet, representing the conscriptionists, intend to resign, with a view to forcing a general election on the issue of compulsory service. SHOT FOR ESPIONAGE. E^kl " " (Received 9.50 a.m.) London, September 17. The Press Bureau states that the prisoner charged with espionage on the 20th, was shot to-day.