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

Especial Correspondence)
 The full text of MT. Asquith's ad- dress:-
 Let me first of all thank you, sir, for your kind and generous hospitali- ty and my many old friends whom I am glad to see around me for their kindness in coming here 10 take part in this little gathering. I suppose 1t is probably the case that we should not have met in this way at this particular moment if it had not been that we have just come to the end of a jour nalistic serial in which the late Com mander-in-Chief of our Armies in France and Flanders, purporting to describe the first year of the war, has made himself responsible for attacks and assertions both upon the living and the dead which I, at any rate, cannot allow to pass without an inn mediate and definite protest. (Cheers.)
 I cannot recall any parallel to this i1l-advised and unhappy literary ven turC. (Cheers.) Lord French is not only a Field Marshall on the active list of the Army, but he occupies at the moment one of the highest and most responsible posts in the Civil Service of the Crown. He Is Lord-Lieu- tenant of Ireland, an office which has often. I agree, been more or less of q sinccure. and of which the Duke of
 Shrewsbury said, as far back as the reign of Queen Anne, there is not enough business to keep one awake
 but enough to prevent one from fall ing asleep" (Laughter This is not the case today. Ireland is one of the darkcst-I think myself it is the dark est---of the dark spots on. the nap
 not only of the British Empire, but
 of the world. (Cheers.)
 And while the statesmanship of three nations is trying to find every where else some footho1d, some point of new departure for nationality, the
 chief governor of Ireland, who one
 might have thought would have been
 absorbed. or at any rate have tried
 70 show that he was absorbed, in his
 own overwhelming responsibilities,
 apparently could find no better occu-
 patton for his time and his energies
 than to fill the columns of the paper
 with narrative of the early days of the war which I do not hesitate
 speaking with as much knowledge as any man possesses (cheers), to char
 acterize here and now as incomplete partial. in most serious respects mis- leading. and. as the whole world will soon see-indeed as I shall show to-
 day-in patent variance and in con- JTdulCllOn WlLn HIS own spoken ana written utterances in the past (Cheers) This, in my judgment, is a very seri-
 ous matter, and it is rendered even more serious by the fact that, while apparently Lord French enjoys in his character of Field-Marshan complete immunity from the restrictions and regulations which apply to other off,
 cers on the active list, he makes free use of official and confidential docu-
 ments to build up a case against those whose lips are closed, in some in
 stances by death and in others by or ficial restraints which apply to them but not to him. (Cheers.)
 Complete Disclosure Sought:
 I feel it my duty to say that quite apart from the merits or demerits ! the justice or injustice, the accuracy or inaccuracy of Lord French mar rative. the whole proceedings is the worst example, as is in fragrant con- tradiction to the best traditions of our public service, and is manifestly lam
 entably repuGnant to the elementary rules of fair play. tCheers.) I need
 hardly say to you that I do not make
 that protest from any desire to avoid
 the fullest publicity to this or any part of the war for which I have direct or even the most indirect re-
 sponsfbiIity. On the contrary, I have
 the utmost confidence that complete
 disclosure, of all the facts is the one
 thing needed for an absolute vindica-
 ton against suggestions of suppine-
 ness, want of foresight, and lack of
 promptitude and energy in council
 and in action of the Government of which I was the head. (Cheers.) That here and there mistakes were made.
 things done which had better have
 been omitted. things omitted which might better have been done. is ob-