The House of Commons debate following the Government's declaration of its intention to introduce a modified form of compulsory service in Great Britain has up to the present produced nothing of a very high order from the Opposition. Mr. Chamberlain has been subjected to the expected twitting for having gone back on the pledge that conscription would not be introduced during times of peace, and has acquitted himself well by reminding his hearers that the circumstances in which they have been living can hardly be classed as peace time circumstances. With that contention there cannot be the slightest disagreement, for if peace is merely to mean abstention from overt hostilities the Opposition is correct; if on the other hand it is to mean a greater degree of amity than at present prevails then Mr. Chamberlain has the whole weight of the argument on his side. That the Opposition will continue to resist the passage of the necessary legislation may be taken for granted. It is not to be believed, however, that this will materially affect the position of the Government, for even with a certain number of dissentients within the ranks of its own supporters, it should still command a sufficient majority to ensure the enactment of the various measures necessary to give effect to these latest proposals. The Government's position is all the stronger by reason of realization of the fact that if the Opposition were now in power, and they were faced with the serious oreblems with which Mr. Chamberlain is confronted, they would have had no other alternative than to have done what he is doing. Indeed the following of policies which the Opposition has been advocating would have meant that the nation would have been at war months ago, and that conscription would have become an imperative necessity by reason of a state of affairs which the Prime Minister is doing all in his power to avoid. It is all very well to look upon the introduction of compulsory service as a preparation against war; it must also be regarded as an important, even if unfortunate contribution to the cause of peace. A strong Britain is that powerful factor for peace which a weak nation could never be.
Of the effect of this move on opinion abroad there can be not the slightest doubt. Despite the slighting remarks which have been passed in the Italian and German Press there is every reason to believe that the moral effect of the British move is not to be lightly discounted. The idea that it will be a very long time before this new conscript tion will afford a force to be reckoned with, has no real basis in British history. The experience of the Great War showed that upon the introduction of compulsory service the training, arming and equipping of the armies thus raised took on the average about six months. There is no reason whatever to justify the supposition that any longer time will be necessary now, while the contention that there are not sufficient officers to train the new levies has no more justification now than it had in the period 1914-1918. Those are considerations with which the well informed in Italy and Germany are fully cognizant, and though for purposes of domestic propaganda it may be necessary to decry this new move which the British Government contemplates, realization of the hard facts must inevitably mean formation of the opinion that whatever may have been the case in the past, Great Britain is now prepared to make a larger contribution towards the perpetuation of peace than ever before, by demonstration of the fact that if she is obliged to fight, there will be no limits to the sacrifices she will be prepared to make. That Herr Hitler has shown himself fully to realize by his own writings, and the knowledge that Britain now means business may even at this late hour bring about some modification of the plans of the Dictators.
There is another aspect of the matter which is not without importance, and that is with regard to the attitude of those Powers which Great Britain and France have invited to join the anti-aggression pact. The fact that the former has now committed herself completely to that arrangement, and is prepared to throw the whole of her forces into its fulfilment, means that such countries as Poland and Rumania are now being made to realize the importance which is attached to the scheme. It is on the other hand an added inducement to other nations who may find themselves menaced by the plans of aggrandisement designed by both Germany and Italy to throw in their lot with the There can only be cne fear in th's connection, and that is whether Great Britain has not decided to act too late in the day. The counsel of perfection would have been if Mr. Chamberlain had reached this present fateful decision immediately following the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia That might have saved Albania, and prevented the dictator foothold in the Balkans. It might also have prevented Herr Hitler from taking up an attitude from which he might not with dignity be able to recede. It is not suggested that he has done so up to the, present, but a great deal depends upon what he has to say before the Reichstag today. A complete contemptuous rejection of President Roosevelt's plea for peace will mean that he has decided to burn his boats, and at some future date, distant or near, he may decide to chance the fulfilment of the destinies of Germany and Italy on the wild gamble of war. Both of those countries may be said to be at the apogee of their strength; there is still much might on the democratic side which has yet to be developed, and the potentialities are strongly in favour of the latter. If there*is any one certain thing in the present situation it is that neither Great Britain nor France contemplate a short war if it is forced upon them. It will not indeed be really started until one side or the other has obtained complete control of the air. The theory of blitzkrieg has been tested out in the past. It has failed. While it may be true that with modern developments the chance of such a sudden blow has improved, there i: in reality little, if anything, to support the view that improvements in arms since the Great War have not been completely offset by counter-improvements, and while the destructive capabilities of the air arm have to be admitted, it must be pointed out that in the long run it has been the bayonet which has been the decisive factor. It may take a very long time before that weapon will come into play in circumstances of war as they are at present envisaged.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.