The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-03-28
ENGLISH CABINET TELLS PAR
LAMENT OF IT'S MISTAKES.
secretary of War Scely Assumes Full
Responsibility for Situation and
Offers to Resign-UniOnist Leaders
Attempt to Make Political Capital
Out of Crisis.

session. Between the documents pre-
sented and the various statements
drawn from cabinet ministers, vital
facts of the affair were made clear
They reveal comedy, or tragedy, of
errors perpetrated by Col. Seely, Sec
retary of war, and Sir Arthur Paget,
commanding the troops in Ireland.
Col. Seely took all the blame on
himself. He frankly declared he had
made great mistake. His written as
surances to Gen. Hubert Cough that
the government must retain it's right
to use all the forces of the crown in
Ireland or elsewhere to maintain or
der and the support the civil powers
in the ordinary exercise Of their duty
put has no intention whatever of tax
ing advantage of this right to crush
political opposition to the policy or
the principles of the home rule bill,
was given without the knowledge of
the cabinet and contrary to it's policy.
The war secretary rendered his res
ignation to Mr.. AsQuith but the pre-
mier refused to accept it. The gov
ernment has withdrawn Col. Seely's
guarantees, and Sir Edward Grey told
the house OF commons that the gov
ernments decision would be made
known to Gen. Cough tomorrow. Thus
the situation with respect to Gen.
Cough and his SO comrades who sent
in their papers is still in a state Of
suspense.
The most important revelations of
the day were that the government did
plan an important military and naval
demonstration on Ulster. Winston
Spencer Churchill, first lord Of the
admiralty, confirmed reports that he
had ordered the third battleship
squadron and a torpedo fotilla to
Irish waters but explained that when
the military arrangements had not
peen carried out he countermanded
the order by wireless-an explanation
which the Unionists received with
jeers.
The blunder Gen. Paget made ap-
pears to have been in giving a practi-
cal ultimatum to officers of the cav
airy brigade, to say whether they
would take active service in Ulster.
The cabinet Monday framed a gen.
eral statement of the officers posi-
tion and duty under the law, and Col.
Seely freely admitted that his error
was in yielding to Gen. Coughs de-
mand for a written assurance that the
army would not be used to suppress
the covenanters.
Premier Asquith's statements that
the officers should return to duty un-
conditionally, it is declared, were
made in good faith since he learned
of Col. Seely's amendments to the
cabinet memorandum only yesterday
The prime minister made plain to
the house of commons the govern
ments position regarding the army
declaring he would not assent to the
claim of any body of men in the
service of the crown to demand as
surances of what they would be re-
quired to do in circunstanc es which
had not arisen.
Sir Edward Grey spoke even more
strongly. He said
THE government is prepared to use
force to whatever extent is required
to make the will of the country pre-
vail. That is a contingency which can
not arise for long time, and we will
labor to avoid it,"
Much Of the debate in the house
Of commons tonight consisted of
fiery denunciations Of the military
aristocracy. Government members
were placated by tOday's revelations,
but there remains among Radicals
and LabOrites a strong and outspoken
dissatisfaction with the whole affair.
Many think the matter would have
been allowed to rest except for the
almost unanimous attacks by the Lib
cral press and boastings of the Con-
scrvative press over what they speak
of as Gen. Coughs vic ry.
All talk of II compromise on the
home rule bill for the time is sus-
pended. Conservatives hold that re-
cent events have shown that no COM
promise is possible. except on the un-
conditional exclusion OF Ulster. The
Liberals say that would not be COM
promise, but surrender. Col. Sccly's
transfer and the announcement and
acceptance Of the designations of Gen.
Pagct and Gen. Cough would be no
surprise.
IN L. La; Ia, IT, 4