BRITAIN.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 October 1915, Page 5

BRITAIN.

THE NEED FOR MEN. ANXIETY IN BRITAIN AND FRANCE Received Oct. 14, 5.5 p.m. London, Oct. 13. It 19 reported in tbie lobby of the House of Commons that Lord Kitchener's minimum requirements o{ recruits is 30,000 weekly, hut conscriptionists urge that the extension of the war area to the Balkans necessitates an increase. There is also much comment on Lord Haldane's return, after a visit to France upon what is described as a most important mission. The excitement in political circles in London is echoed in Paris, where the mystery of M. Delcasse's resignation is still ugrevealed. THE WAR IN PARLIAMENT. AN HISTORIC SITTING. DEALING WITH NIGHT CLUBS. / London, Oct. 13. There was a quiet day in the House of Commons, in view of the historic sitting to-morrow, which many members desire to include <1 general debate on .the Balkans' situation. Sir John Simon introduced a Bill dealing with night clubs, confined to the duration of the war. The Bill authorises closing at 12.30, nightly inspection by superior police officers and military authorities. Those responsible for misconduct are liable to fine and imprisonment. Sir John Simon pointed out that the pernicious' character of the clubs whicli had been springing up in great numbers since the war had become a public scandal. The National Liberal and Carlton Clulbs would necessarily be treated on the same footing. The Finance Bill proceeded to the second reading, particularly th(j incometax proposals. THE ALLIES' LOAN. INCREASE. IN RENTS. Received Oct. 14, 9.40 p.m. London, Oct. 13. The Daily, Telegraph says that the Commons' discussion on the AngloFrench loan in America was an unpleasant surprise. The banking world realised that if the Treasury had taken steps sooner the loan would have been obtained cheaper. The paper declares that a Chief Justice is not a man to employ on a financial mission. Mr. Pratt, in the House of Commons, stated that the property owners in Glasgow aud on the Tyneside were making extortionate increases in rents. Mr. Lloyd George said he propose*} to deal with the matter drastically. MEN MUST BE FOUND. LORD KITCHENER'S VIEWS. Received Oct. 15, 12.40 a.m. Loudon, Oct. 14. A lengthy Cabinet meeting discussed the question of recruiting, and also the Balkans ann Dardanelles positions. The Times says that Lord Kitchener, owing to the drop in recruiting, informed his colleagues that men mu3t be found somehow, and he placed the responsi- : bility on the Cabinet. LET US KNOW. , THE CENSORSHIP. BRITAIN'S ONE MISTAKE. Times and Sydney Sun Services. London, Oct. 13. Controversies are raging on the censorship, which i 3 condemned everywhere, and the newspapers are demanding that the public he told the truth, j The Pall <Miall Gazette says that the J consorship should be convicted of gross | deficiency of intelligence, destroying the confidence of the country. The Globe urges Lord Selborne to resign and conduct a campaign against the censorship. The Evening Niews says that it is the nation's not the censor's war, and It asks whether the Government want to keep the censorship and lose the war. Another controversy is over the admissibility of sending an expeditionary force of 4()0,000 men to the Balkans. Experts are divided between the claims of the West front and Serbia. A leading article in the Daily Mail says that the spectacle of Lord Selborne reproving Sir John Simon, both members of the Cabinet, would soam humorous if tragedies did not lie behind. The present managed censorship is apparently to prevent bad news from France and the Dardanelles from reaching Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, but the facts are soon known from the wounded talking. Mr. Frederic Harrison, in a letter, says that conscription and the militarisation of the human and economic energies of the Empire remain the only safety. The Balkans are a new area open to warfare where decisions may be expected. The Germans, like Napoleon, hope to strike us in a vulnerable spot. Only the press can save us and it is the duty of the responsible press to take the "censorship into its own hands and explain the situation without stint and with no fear that the spirit of Britain will not respond. Sir John Simon, in a letter oil the censorship, replies to complaints that the Bureau is not the author of the policy pursued, but merely the instrument carrying out instructions. Me instanced excisions made in France and not in London. CONSCRIPTION ADVOCATED. (Times and Sydney Sun Services.) Received Oct. 14, 5J5 p.m. London, Oct. 13. The Westminster Gazette, which . lias hitherto been an upholder of the voluntary system, says:—lf we undertake a new expedition we must nrovide men additional to those who are relied upon to keep up the existing line 3 at ( strength. The Commons must be prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to obtain men. So many people went into Wellington last Friday evening to witness the march of the troops through the city that all the hotels and boardinghouses became overcrowded, and wherever a Btretcher omiM be placed it was used *s a bed.