UNDIMINISHED CONFIDENCE

All this was very welcome hearing, and led up to a brief and guarded reference to the general military position. The Prime Minister said that the plan of the Allies for 1917 had been a continued and simultaneous converging movement against Germany. Events in Russia had frustrated that hope. One claw of the nippers – Mr Lloyd George’s fingers unconsciously illustrated the position – had been put out of action. Thus the brunt of the fighting had fallen on ourselves, and though there had been no great break through, he claimed that our Armies had won very considerable successes, and he read to an eager House the latest dispatch from Sir Douglas Haig. So he bade them be of good hope. Things in Russia were mending, and when Russia had recovered and America was “really in” – dramatic emphasis was laid on the phrase – we should see great events. Meanwhile, our duty was to face the hour with the old temper of the race, and show our patience, our endurance, and our inflexible resolve to win. All this was finely delivered without a shadow of boasting, but with an earnest and resonant confidence that took the House. Mr Asquith followed in similar vein, saving that he saw no cause for anxiety in the military position, and looked forward to victory with undiminished confidence. But for the Russian breakdown, he had no doubt that the Allies by this time would have established an “overwhelming preponderance” over the enemy. The most important part of Mr Asquith’s speech, however, was the glowing tribute which he paid the patriotism and endurance of Labour. Mr Wardle was quick to take note of this, and said that the attitude of Labour depended now as always during the war, on the way in which it was approached. Labour could be led; it would not be driven.