The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-08-15

were placed, not only a marvel, but a miracle, if 1t had been otherwise. But that is not the case put forward by to the matter which forms the sub 1ect of the last and, I suppose, the most vitriolic of his chapters-I have not read them all-the allegation of deliberate apathy-that is what 1t comes to--calculated and ca1lous neg lect, during the first year of the war, on the part of the Governmen in the provision of an adequate supply of artillery ammunition for the Armies Tn the field. I am going to show you that not only had that charge no foundation in fact, but that one ought to know better that it has no foundation than Lord French him. self. (Cheers.)
 But before I deal with that, which will be my main theme, I must point out-because this is a question of au- thority and credibi.ity-that there are 1 in this narrative, dealing with other aspects of the early days of the war, things which might, and I think ought, to lead one to look with a good deal of, I will not say scepticisnl, but with close scrutiny, on Lord French s articles. In the first place he gives an account in the matter of Le Cateau which I find it wholly impossible to reconcile, not only with my recoIlec- tion of the facts but with his own published dispatch on the same sub ject Immediately after the battle had taken place, and it is an account which differs very much from the other in that it reflects on the honor and military capacity of one of his own subordinates
 Lord Kitchener's Mission. There is another and still more se- rious illustration of the same thing. I pointed out the other day, when was speaking at Newcastle, that Lord French'S account of the visit paid to him in Paris by Lord Kitchener at the end of the month of August is a tra- vesty of the real facts. I am glad to know that all the contemporary doc uments, which have happily been pre- served, will very shortly be given to the world. cCheers)
 But in the meantime let me say in regard to that transaction that the Government received-I received-a message from Lord French as to his contemplated movements which I communicated to my colleagues, and with regard to which it is no exagger- sation to say that it filled the whole CdDlnet With cOnSI6rnatlOn. ktSneeTS-D
 There are several of my colleagues who sat in that Cabinet, and they will bear me out that it filled us with consternation.
 And why?
 Because the movement which it in dicated would in our judgment have amounted in effect to leaving our Allies in the lurch in the moment of their extreme need, and the con- sternation which we felt was shared and expressed to us in moving terms by the head of the French Govern ment. It was in these circumstances that Lord Kitchener, at the unani-
 nous request of her colleagues, un dertook his mission to France, a mis- sion which he successfully achieved, and which in my judgment saved our cause from an indel1Uble reproach. (Cheers.)
 What is the charge made by Lord French in this matter of munitions?
 He tells us that his object was to make known some of the efforts he made to awaken both the Government ana the public from that apathy which means certain defeat; these ef- forts, he states, were continued for months, but his appeal fell upon deaf ears, and finally after reading my speech at Newcastle q will come to that presently, he lost all hopes and determined, at the risk of his own mil itary future, by the aid of the Press and behind the back and without the knowledge of his own official chief, to destroy the apathy of the Govern ment, and incidentally the Govern naent itself. which, he says, brought the Empire to the brink of disas- ter.
 This is his case summarily put.
 As you see, it amounts to an ale Eation that in spite of his warnings, the Government as a whole, and Lord Kitchener in particular, were crim- inally supine and negligent of capi- tai importance for the conduct of the war.
 The Increase in Output.
 Let me for a moment ask you, for they are all public property, to recall the actual facts. Nobody questions that the Expeditionary Force which we sent to France in August was full ly equipped in all respects Clear, hear) Its artillery equipment was in excess of that which had been settled to be necessary in case of war. The losses which had to be made good from the retreat from Mons in the first autumn, and the rapid and enormous increase through recruiting of the New Army in the forces of the field very soon began to put strain, and a, severe strain on our machinery of production. From al- most the first moment the matter en- gagged, and had never ceased to en- gage for one day, the closest and continuous attention of the Govern rnent. Clear, hear.) Lord Kitchener was assisted by a committee of the Cabinet, and later on in the Spring of 1915 I appointed a special Munf- tions Committee of the Cabinet, inde- pendent of the War Office, and pre- sided over by MT. Lloyd George A speech made the day after my fa- nous speech, or infamous speech Qaughter) although I see he has ded- icated his book to Mir. Lloyd George surely he might have paid him the compli1n ent of reading his speeches in this speech made on April 21, the day after mine, was an expansion, but in entire harmony with what said. MT. Lloyd George described with a perfect accuracy exactely what had