Feb, 26.
When Parliament reassembled on February 15 the Premier made a statement the significance of which is daily becoming more parent. Mr. Asquith said the Government at Home is taking complete stock of all its resources, both military end financial, in order to contribute during the coming month to a maximum effort in the common cause."" We do not know precisely what effect this announcement bad on the minds of, the people at Home at the moment it was made, but to us it had the {same resonance as the late Mr. Joseph Chamberlain's declaration in 1899 to our fellow subjects in South Africa that the Motherland would "'see them through." It reflected an enthusiastic determination to prosecute the war vigorously: to throw our whole weight against the enemy and maintain the pressure until victory was achieved. Already the Cabinet had approved of recommendations calculated to ensure jour financial stability indefinite jlv: Canada and Australia had announced splendid recruiting returns; the Indian army had renewed its application for a bigger share in the military operations a Royal Proclamation had announced the enforcement of the Compulsory Military Service Act from February 18: Great Britain and France had purchased 200,000 tons of wheat from Australia and Great Britain 250,000 quarters from Argentina and secured an indefinite extension of the monopoly of the Indian Government in the export of wheat. Rumania, also, had mobilized nine-tenths of her crisis bpd been ended by ipmense and inflexible measure which had revolutionized Russia's national industrial activity and produced a igious output of ammunition. Moreowr, we had instituted firmer meg-sures in the Mediterranean; the French and British were pouring reinforcements into Salonika, arrangements had been made for Canada to produce all the refined nickel we were likely to require and Russia had established permanent reserve of 1,500,000 men.
One of the principal wesknesses of war alliances is the conflicting political aspirations of the various nations. Hence the necessity for the subordination of political aims in order to obtain common military victory. This has been achieved; the action of the Governments, politically and economically, has been co-ordinated, and soon we shall see a Council of Governments, in fact if not in name, in Paris. This much having been attained each Government is free to devote all its energies to the performance of whatever tasks may be within its power. For the moment, therefore, we may review what steps the British Government is taking to contribute its maximum to the common cause. Our Navy, with personnel of 350,000, is better equipped than any Navy in the history of the world; our mercantile marine has its difficulties but we may confidently look forward to the finding of a solution that will make its service still more efficient and less expensive; we have recruited 4,000,000 volunteers, and the output of ammunition is rapidly creasing. But this does not meet the requirements of a Government and nation determined to secure victory at the earliest possible date. Amongst the measures taken by the Government. the commandeering of the distilleries has attracted consider-lable attention; for. whatever this may mean to the whisky trade, its true import is that we are making high explosives at such a pace as to need every obtainable pint of pure alcohol. A great stir has been made with regard to the effectiveness of the blockade of Germany, and here again the Government has stepped in and appointed Lord
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.