PRIME MINISTER ON THE NATIONAL POSITION “PALATABLE FACTS”

MORE FOOD: MORE SHIPS

The Prime Minister had a very encouraging and satisfactory story to tell the House of Commons yesterday. “With reasonable economy,” he said, “there is no chance of the enemy starving us out.” Members heard him gladly, with the exception, perhaps, of the Pacifists, who now listen to the Prime Minister with white, hardset faces. Not even good news of victory from the front draws a cheer from them. But in all other quarters Mr Lloyd George’s speech roused pleasurable emotions. It was a good adjournment speech. There is nothing like starting a holiday in high on spirits. Mr Kennedy Jones had adjured the Prime Minister to tell the nation the worst – not forgetting the very worst. He seemed anxious to know the dreadful total of the tonnage at the bottom of the sea, and his exact chance of starvation. Mr Lloyd George agreed that it was a good thing to know the worst, but he jocularly added that it was also useful to tell people what was palatable. These palatable facts may be briefly summarised. First, as to the food position: Our stocks of cereals, which were the lowest on record early in the year, have considerably improved. This time last year we had a stock of 6.48 million quarters of wheat. It is now 8.5 million. The increase in food values owing to closer milling and the saving in bread consumption represent a saving of 70,000 quarters weekly. Similarly as to food production: Last December the cultivated acreage was between 200,000 and 300,000 acres down on the previous year. It is now one million acres to the good, which represents some three or four million tons of foodstuffs. British harvest promises to be better than for many years. By spring there are likely to be 8,000 tractors available. On the other hand, cereal harvests of the world are not good, and we shall have to think of the needs of our Allies, especially France and Italy. Hence the duty of strict economy continues as before, for it is incumbent on us to look forward, not merely to next year, but also to 1919.