WHAT BRITAIN HAS DONE IN THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 September 1917, Page 8

WHAT BRITAIN HAS DONE IN THE WAR.

LORD XORTHCLIFFE'S FIVE POINTS. New York, July 10. Lord NorthclifTe's speech at the New York branch of the Overseas Club today gave some facts and figures about the work of tho British which may have been unknown to the average American citizen, who had been misled by German propaganda into belief that, while France is fighting, England is keeping its Army at home for seif-defence, and that the whole of the Allies had been financed by the United States, which is being bled for the benefit of England. Lord NorthelifTc said that he took more pride in having founded the Overseas Club than in any other of his past activities. He added:—

My three themes urn what Britain ha« done in this war, what the Overseas Club has done in this war, and what Britons in the United States should do to help to end this ghastly upheaval. When I speak of Britain I refer to the five united British nations—Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, as well as to the other units of the Empire, upon which the sun never sets.

In the first place, Britain has bottled up the German High Sea Fleet, swept the trade routes clear of German raiders, and prevented Great Britain and France from being blockaded by sea and strangled. The ißvitish Navy saved democracy in the early days of the war. In the second place, Britain has buttressed the world's credit. Every one remembers the panic in the early days of August, 1914. when securities of all kinds were tumbling to apparent disaster. Britain stopped that panic, and began from the very 3tart of the war to advance loans to its Allies to the final extent of over five billion dollars ( £l,we.ooo,ooo). In tho third place. Britain has provided the other Allies with vast quantities of shipping, coal, material and other vital necessities. In the fourth place, we have raised huge popular loans for the conduct of the war: the last Victory Loan totalled over six billion dollars £1,200,000.000) —by fnr the biggest loan ever raised by anv nation, 'in the fifth place, the five British nations recruited under the volunteer s.ys- | tern millions of ->icu before they were obliged to resort to conscription. I do not advocate the volunteer sysu-m, because of its injustices and inclliciency. but 1 think there is cause for pride in realisms that millions of Unions Mm all over the world offered themselves voluntarily for the war. At the present moment we maintain a great armv on the French front apart from our other large armies in Egypt and other parts of Africa, in Mesopotamia, Palestine and Salonika. The word "maintain" means that we keep up that huge mass of men to lighting strength,""constantly replacing the terrific drain of killed, wounded, and sick. German propagandists, with the idea nf crc'itino- friction between the Allies, have tried r to spread the legend that Bri-t-iir keeps the bulk of her Army in England to repel invasion. That is charac-t-risticallv untrue. The military forces > in Fn<daml consist of troops in course of i training oldish men, and the last reserve I line which we still call "Volunteers," or, better, Home Defence Men. All these I latter'are over military age. ! Though we Britons are slow, I think I mav claim that «e arc thorough. When the bulldog catches hold it keeps hold. jiWc shall hang on. We shall see this I i thing through to a finish.