Pursuing the line of thought suxgested by a review of General in's life, we come to the of politics in warfare. Tt can never, of course, be entirely absent, but when political considerations dominate the soldiers and sailors whose business is war, " had] condition of affairs ix result. the opatkin's career shows the dis-fa taxes under which he laboured in the Russo-Japanese War, and the same sort of thing crops up all through the European In troops were badly needed on the Western Front yet the British [Cabinet diverted thousands to Galli poli, and by the time that effort had failed they were too late to help Serbia materially. Mr. Lloyd George was fond of side-shows rather than concentrating on the defeat of the principal enemy, and tory may have something quite upon him on that account. It.seems rather ludicrous turning from these struggles to the game that is pro-Jceeding in China to-day, but applying the principles we have hinted at, we appreciate how the campaigns here are unending and. unsatisfactory. 'The soldier is more than half politician, and his taste for political manoeuvring is _greater than his love of campaigning, and a result he conducts all' his jeampaigns with political rather than military objectives. If he arrives Jat a position where he can bring. somebody else in on his side, he satisfied with having mated his opponent, ever apparently forgetting that he has not disarmed, far less destroyed him. So it goes on in a Kind of Balkanized China, and will be so until one real military man sets out on a definite campaign in
Jcampaign will, of course, have a definite itary fashion. Hi [political aim, but it will be conducted without interference from any subsidiary political considerations. There is the anomaly here which gives politicians their handle for interference, and-it has got to be over-
The Liberal Party The prospect of seeing Mr. Asquith in the House of Lords welcome one. Talents such as his fare too great to be lost to the! service of the country, and in opjo welcome one, Talents such as his criticisms are certain to have great value. What, however, is likely to ye of greater import is the chance of a rehabilitation of the' Liberal Party which may then be made possible under Mr. Lloyd George. It is quite interesting to recall that in his young political days Mr. Asquith was by no means acceptable to Mr. Gladstone, but force of circumstances compelled the great Liberal statesman to take heed of that group of Imperial Liberals, ax we may call them, headed by Mr. Asquith and the present Lord Grey of Fallodon. Times have changed vastly since then, and the men whose presence in the Party so. worried Gladstone have since been the driving force of Liberalism and are now getting out of touch with the spirit animate ing the remnants of that once powerful force. Although the way'
now likely to become clear for' Mr. Lloyd George to energize liberalism, it is a question whether ithin reasonable time he can hope to restore it to the position of a strong political force. Some of the members of the Party have gone to the Conservative side of the House id even more to the Labour, and there is a feeling in the country—we can believe Mr. Ramsay Me-dislikes die hard, and the Liberals. who served under Mr. Asquith have by no means forgiven Mr. Lloyd George for ousting him from the leadership. Yet it' may be hoped that such differences may be sunk {for the country will be all the better for a Liberal Party freed from the [Socialist taint.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.