Up to the present no Cabinet Ministers have resigned, but it is quite likely they may do so. Sir John Simon may go, and also Mr. Runciman—I repeat that neither would be loss to the Ministry—and you can take it in assessing the outlook that there is not single member of the Cabinet whom we could not replace without much difficulty except Mr. Lloyd George.
an indifferent organizer himself, but he docs know how to choose his men, and he does possess the art of inspiring enthusiasm. No Ministry is possible without him, and if he came out to form what one may call a War Cabinet! on business lines, he would singlehanded sweep the country provided he got sufficient support from the best elements.
I do not think Sir Edward Grey will resign though if he does we could replace him to-morrow by Lord Hardinge. Mr. McKenna said to be very wobbly, but be will probably follow Mr. Asquith, Mr. Balfour now has gone over to the Compulsionists, as has also Mr. Arthur Henderson, the Labour man, and they have taken this step on the ground of urgent national necessity. Mr. Henderson may not be able to hold his place, however, as he depends on a Party mandate, and if this is refused he must resign. universal feeling that the war has been dragging quite long enough and that " colossal effort must be made to bring it this year, at all events, within measurable distance of a satisfactory termination. The nation wants action; it wante to see at the earliest possible date activity on every fighting front, and it demands armies of reserves to supplement the undoubtedly heavy leases which will occur. It realizes that the withdrawal of a very large number of additional men from the business life of the nation may, unless it is judicially carried out, cause serious trouble, but there ought to be sufficient intelligence to do this, without damaging either our finance or our trade.
The majority of single slackers are not among the working classes, who would I venture to think contribute not more than twenty-five per cent of the total of conscripted men, In short, therefore, I think there is little doubt we shall carry compulsion and that in two months time we shall be wondering why we made so much fuss over it. Nor do I think any extension of compulsion beyond the single men will be necessary. This ought to give us, excluding all our losses in the past, about four and " half million mea, including of course the married men who have voluntarily enlisted under the Derby scheme.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.