The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-07-21
BRITISH GETTING
 READY FOR NEW
 FIGHT ON T|GRIs
Better Preparations to Be Made for Transportation
 and Care of Hurt.

and Care of Hurt.
 london. July 21-David Lloyd lC;eorxe, Secretary for War. announced Iyesterday in the House of Commons that preparations were being made to push the Misrepresentation campaign with renewed vigor. He admitted that mistakes had been made and said that tho trouble lay mainly in the trans port system.,f ssa
 Every requisition made on the War ,Onace for aid for the sick and wound ed and for transport had been hon. ored, the secretary said. Orders had been give in England. he declared. for the construction of river steam ships and other craft and arrange sments had been made for the con- struction of a light railway along a part of the line of communication. Asqquith Promises Inquiry.
 Premier AsQuith announced that se- cret Investigations of the Dardanelles and Mesopotamian campaigns would be instituted, and that both Houses would be represented in these inves- t1ea<tons. Sir Edward Carson there upon withdrew the motion which he had announced he would make today.
 Premier Asquith said the inquiries would be held by small bodies com , posed oNmembers of both Houses and representative of Australia, whose 7 troops had played so gallant a part in the operations at the Dardanelles.
 David Lloyd George gave long ex- planation of the Mesopotamian difi- | ct1lties. Much of the trouble, he | said. was to be traced to the com pHcated system of control. While I Sir William R. Robertson, chief of ! the Imperiaf Stan. directed the mili- ' tary operations, the Indian govern ment supplied the forces, and the ! commander in chief in India was Irresponsible for the supplies. ~
 MT. Lloyd George announced that a { new arrangement had been made by which India will remain the main 1 base of the forces, but the com mander in chief in India will receive ! instructions from and be directly re- sponsible to. the army council in all matters. Thus Gen. Robertson and the army council will be responsible for supplies and transport as well as for direction of operations.
 'fSaved Empire From Disaster"
 Replying to severe denunciations of the Mesopotamia campaign by Lord Wemyss, in introducing his motion i in the House of Lords demanding an investigation, the Marquis of Crewe, Lord President of the Council, said that in the critical monents of Au- gust, 1914Nit was imperative for Great Britain to lreassert her para mount position in the Persian Gulf and prevent the declaration of holy war.
 ''Our presence there," he continued ''I believe, saved the empire from the approach of a great disaster. We had to consider the great Moslem population of Africa also, and if we had not shown our strength, Islam as a whole might have been defect ed against us."
 Lord Crewe referred to the difficul. ties confronting the Indian govern ment and said that from December 1914, to September following ther, had been no less than seven sep farate attacks, some of very formid able character. on Indias northwes frontier, and contended that befor, paastng final Judgment on the Indian officials it would be necessary to con sider the particular system of mill tary organization there. sl
 Lord Crewe then made a statemen similar to that of Premier .Asquitl in the House of Commons.
 Cromer Blames Kitchener
 Lord Cromer, who followed, admit ted that the Marquis of Crewe's state ' ment changed the aspect of the de bate. He did not desire to stir tn, ? embers of a rather heated controvers. of sa{ few years ago. He thought Kit chener had made a mistake in tn, military changes he had introduced in India, and, while it would be { NJ great exaggeration to say, that tn, misfortune of the Mesopotamia cam paign was the outcome of\ thes, changes, he could not help tlinkins \ that they largely contributed to tha misfortune.
 Tn response to many questions as tt whether matters were now satisfac Itory,, Earl Curzon, Lord Privy Seal fead an official despatch testifyins khat everything possible was bein, done in competitor with the Mesopo tarnfa campaign.
 The following official report iron the expeditionary force was mad, public today:
 Since the last communique of tn, 18th nothing Interesting has been re %nrted. The heat has been excessive For some days the temperature in tb, shade has been over 120 degrees" d. 1