The Washington herald., 1918-05-10

~ 10 apsuTu, sdiu ne, TO de-
scribe my motion as a vote of cen
sure. l have done all in my power
to help the government description
of the war, and the definition Of the
great purposes of war and peace
for which the allies are STRUGGLING.
II wished to censure the govern
ment. hope would have the can
dor to do II directly"
The governments proposal for
court of honor" he added,
amounts to an admission that an
inquiry is necessary. and that the
matters raised are so secret that
they could not be discussed in
commons.
Does the government think the
inquiry still necessary. or could the
case be considered without the
presentation OF secret documents?
In the interests of the allies pros
ecution of the war it is the duty
OF Parliament to establish an in
Quiry which will give a prompt de-
cision and authoritative judgment"
Fighting Lost Cause.
The premiers answer was his
challenge to the house to choose
between him and Asquith. 1t knock
ed the bottom from beneath the op-
positions cause. Their ammuni-
! tion was gone.
Still Asquith persisted in urging
his plan; from then he and his fol-
lowers were plainly fighting for q
| lost cause.
A Few Tits.
I Now and then the debate was en-
livened by tits, but they were few.
A one-minute skirmish occurred
between Asquith and Bonar Law.
The former premier had suggested
that select committee would be i'm
partial.
my right honorable friend" inter-
rupted the chancellor OF the ex-
not name five unpretudiced men,
bers."
| There was no bareback from the
| former premier. He merely said:
II regret to hear that from the
commons leader"
When the premier came to touch on
Maurice's allegation with regard to
the army strength in the west. he
declared:
The figures I gave bearing on
the fighting strength of the army
were taken from the official records
I Of the war Office
Everybody knew that this meant
they emanated from Maurice's own
department.
Figures Accurate.
The figures are accurate" he
continued. II have made inquiries
since"
Whereupon he proceeded to read
from a document submitted by Gem
eral Maurice's department nine
days after his, the premier's speech
This document stated-as the pre-
mier had stated-that the COM
batant strength of the British army
was greater in January, 1919, than
II was in January, 1917. The
premier continues:
"As regards the comparison between
the allied and enemy forces, my fig
ures came from Gen. Sir F. B. Maur-
ices department OF the war office
"Gen. Maurice did not correct my
statement when it was previously
made at a Cabinet meeting.
Maurice Not Present.
With regard to the extension of
our front. Gen. Maurice was not pres
ent in the council chamber at Yer
sailles.
THE extension was not discussed
by the council but had been accom-
plished beforehand. Field Marshall
Haig and the war cabinet were re-
luctant to extend the line, which was.
however, later done at very great
pressure by France. The military rep
resentatives at Versailles suggested
a compromise, and the extension was
made upon agreement between Field
Marshal Haig and Gen. Petain.
Gen. Maurice said on two record
ed occasions that the forces OIL the
Western front were practically
equal"
Controversies ParaIyxing.
Again the memory of the last few
days of acrimony and intrigue SEEM
ed to surge through the prime min
ister's brain. His face reddened as
he almost shouted:
'"The controversies are distracting,
paralyzing. rending. 1 beg that they
be ended. Our National Unity is
threatened. Our army is threatened.
The Germans are preparing for the
biggest blow of the war 1 impiore
that this sniping cease. The fate oil
the empire. the fate Of the world
hangs in the balance in the next few
days"
When the premier was telling the
House about the army figures, Liewel-
lyn Williams interrupted with this
query:
What about March ~"
The question revolved around the
premier's statement, disputed by Maui
rice, that the British army was strong
er last January than in January, 1917
Maurice had fatty contended this was
untrue.
Dramatic Plea.
The premier's answer was that he
had merely compared the January
figures because the totals were avail
able IN Maurice's department
One Of the most dramatic pleas for
the government and for unity was