THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (THE MARQUESS OF CREWE)Your Lordships are aware that the Prime Minister in the House of Commons has this afternoon asked for leave to introduce a Bill relating to military service. We have thought that the country would expect that my noble friend the Secretary of State for War should make one or two observations, from the point of view of the War Office, on the strength of the Army as it bears on the position of the moment. But before he does so I have been asked to say a few preliminary words on the same situation from the point of view of His Majesty's Government generally. I have no doubt that your Lordships will desire to defer anything in the nature of a general debate on the subject of recruiting until the Bill comes up to this House from another place. But I may just remind the House of one or two facts in connection with it.
Your Lordships will remember that in the early autumn of last year the supply of recruits began perceptibly to diminish. Of course, under the system in which recruiting was carried on the output was always somewhat seasonal and varied at uncertain intervals. But after the summer of last year there was something like a definite and continuing reduction in the number of recruits forthcoming, and at the same time it became evident that the course of events in the East, in some respects untoward, demanded the maintenance in that theatre of war of an increased Force, while at the same time it was clear that no diminution of our Forces ought to take place on what we have considered the main—that is to say, the Western — Front. Consequently, on October 11 the scheme was started which is associated with the name of my noble friend Lord Derby, and I have already had the pleasure of expressing on behalf of the Government our thanks to him for the part which he played in undertaking it and carrying it through. That scheme, as we all know, involved the grouping into classes of possible recruits; and I have no doubt that there are many in this House as well as out of it who feel some regret that 811 this grouping system was not attempted at an earlier stage in the recruiting campaign.
Then the House will remember that the Prime Minister in the House of Commons on November 2 made an important statement relative to the different classes of unmarried and married recruits. He then stated that the obligation of the married men to serve ought not to be held binding unless a sufficient number of unmarried men came forward. He hoped that this would be done through voluntary effort, but as a last resort he foretold that other means might or would be employed to secure the services of unmarried men. I have no intention of arguing, as one might argue, the case as between married and unmarried recruits for the Army. It is, however, worth noting, what is in itself, perhaps, something of a paradox, that in a time like this, of great national crisis, there is a distinct probability under a voluntary system that a larger portion of married than unmarried men will enlist, for the reason that although in ordinary times the duty or the preference of the unmarried man would be clear, yet when the time of crisis comes the added sense of responsibility which a man has undertaken by the mere fact of starting a home and engaging in married life is likely to make him think more seriously of his duty towards his country. At any rate I think it may be taken as an accepted canon, according to general public opinion, that cœteris paribus the country would expect that the unmarried man rather than the married man should be the first to present himself.
The response to the appeal which my noble friend opposite presided over was, as we all know, numerically enormously large. A gross figure of upwards of 2,800,000 men presented themselves for examination. When we consider that some 3,000,000 men are already serving the Crown in different capacities we are entitled to feel and to express some pride at the public spirit shown by the new recruits. In itself it is a grand tribute to the old voluntary system; and I should be sorry for any man who was not deeply stirred by the devotion of those hundreds of thousands of men who have now come forward, and to whom, less than two years ago, the idea of serving in the ranks of the Army would have seemed remote and almost preposterous. But, my Lords, after everything has been said that can 812 be said in that sense, it is the duty of the Government to consider the actual forces that have to be maintained in the field for the successful prosecution of the war; and when it is considered that of seven potential unmarried soldiers only four have been forthcoming, even in this great response that has been made, it is clearly necessary for the Government to give further close consideration to the position.
The first matter that we have to note is that the necessary exemptions from military service which have to be made in this country are far greater than those which have to be made in the case of any other belligerent Power. In the first place, we are engaged on a very large scale in the manufacture of actual munitions and equipment of war not merely for ourselves, but also, to a large extent, for the Allies with whom we are fighting. Those labours, of course, necessarily occupy a large number of men, some of military age. Then, again, on a scale which does not fall to the lot of other countries, we have to sustain our national credit, and also, to a considerable extent, the credit of the Allied Powers. Credit, as we all know, hinges to the greatest possible extent on exchange and on the maintenance of our gold standard. The rate of exchange hinges in a large degree, situated as we are, on the exports which we are able to send from this country. Those exports, of course, demand a great amount of labour for their production. Therefore, even after supplying the places of workers of military age by introducing workers of non-military age, by substituting in certain cases un-skilled for skilled labour, and by the new employment, on the largest possible scale, of women workers—even then many exceptions remain which have to be deducted from the total number of men of military age in the country. In fact it comes to this, that no advocate of universal military service would argue that in a complex society like ours it is at all possible for all the younger able-bodied men to be put to the business of fighting after the mode which would be adopted in a nation or tribe enjoying a more primitive kind of civilisation than ours. But what we can say and do say is this, that every man of military age who is not doing work which is proved to be useful in the interests of the State, either directly or by contributing to the support of persons who otherwise would themselves become a burden on 813 the State, ought to serve in the ranks of the Army. And, my Lords, if you will think of it from this point of view, it is just the number and scale of those exceptions—those necessary exceptions of which I have spoken—which justifies the enrolment in the Army of those who can claim no real grounds for exemption; because if their freedom of choice is exercised by men of military age in a mariner which, in the current phrase of to-day, is antisocial, then it is clear that the restriction of that liberty to a certain extent is fully justified.
I shall not attempt to examine the general figures of Lord Derby's Report until the measure which is in general terms founded upon that Report is before us. I would merely say this, that the number of single men who are not accounted for by the methods adopted in Lord Derby's inquiry cannot be described as "negligible." Of the total number of those who are not accounted for there are many who will undoubtedly advance claims for exemption; and of those claims there are many which the competent authority will, no doubt, decide to be good. Where they are not decided to be good, one likes to believe, and I think one is entitled to believe, that in a great number of cases the failure to enlist comes rather from an imperfect realisation of the situation than from deliberate refusal to help the country. There is evidence enough and to spare that the patriotic fire burns freely and brightly throughout the country. All that you can say is that it does not burn quite so steadily or quite so uniformly as the needs of the country demand.
Apart from the addition to numbers which the adoption of the system founded on the Report of Lord Derby's inquiry may be expected to produce, considerable or even large as that addition is bound to be although the final figure remains with some limits uncertain at this moment, there is a further substantial advantage both to the War Office and to the country generally from the economic point of view in the adoption of such a system. That advantage is this, that a plan of this kind permits the formation of a reservoir, so to speak, of men who can join the Army at the time when it is actually most convenient that they should do so, neither too soon nor too late. It is clear that a 814 very great rush of men at one time, followed after an interval by something like a shortage of recruits, makes infinitely more difficult the work of those who have to superintend the training and organisation of the Army. Those difficulties will be gradually avoided by the adoption of a more formal system. So much importance did the War Office attach to this consideration that from quite early days they made attempts to bring about the formation of a reservoir of this kind. Men were invited to enlist and attest and then return to their private work. But it was found in practice that under the old system that plan failed altogethr, for reasons with which I need not trouble the House; and though the strongest efforts were put forward to make a success of it, yet for the time being the plan had to be dropped.
In conclusion, I merely desire to say this, that the steps which the Government now propose to take cannot be held to have any bearing whatever on the controversies respecting military service which have been so familiar to us in recent years. All the questions of conscription, of military training, of the formation of a special Army for home defence and home defence alone—all those questions remain untouched by the action of the Government at this moment. And again, whatever basis for service in the Army or in the Navy is adopted after the war, this forum of war service which we are proposing ought not to be treated as a preliminary to any post-war system or even to be regarded as an illustration of its principle. The future needs of the nation, as they are indicated by the state of Europe after peace has been declared, must be the subject of the most careful prevision and of the most ample discussion. Consequently I venture to say that the present proposals of the Government, which will come before your Lordships in due time, ought to excite no kind of disunion either in Parliament or throughout the country. They must be regarded as an attempt, and I trust as a successful attempt, to regularise the actual situation as we now see it, in the light of our profound conviction that in the course of the coming year the most stupendous exertions must be made by all the Allies, and not least by ourselves, if we are to be in sight of that complete victory the absence of which would spell something not altogether removed from defeat.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (EARL KITCHENER)With your Lordships' permission, I should like to add a few remarks from the military point of view to what has been said by my noble friend. Seventeen months ago I stated to your Lordships the broad principles of the military steps which I considered necessary to meet the emergency of the war. The scheme for augmenting our Forces then set on foot was based on a definite plan to secure, by successive increases to our military strength, an Army commensurate with our power and responsibilities, with the proper complement of reserves and reinforcements necessary to keep up its effective strength in the field during the war. Further, we had to produce for the Army thus created the guns, ammunition, and military matériel requisite to maintain its fighting value. This scheme had to be developed under the system of voluntary military service existing in the country, and I must say that this system has given us results far greater than most of us would have dared to predict, and certainly beyond anything that our enemies contemplated. In the early stages of the war men responded to the call in almost embarrassing thousands, and until a few months ago maintained, by a steady flow of recruits, the supply of men we required in as large numbers as we could train and equip.
The cadres of the large Army we now possess having been formed, it is necessary to keep it up to strength in the field by a constant supply of reserves replenishing tile wastage of war. Recently, however, the numbers of voluntary recruits have ceased to ensure the full provision of necessary trained reserves. Every effort was made by Lord Derby's canvass to repair this deficiency, and, at the inception of the scheme, the Prime Minister, on behalf of the Government, gave a pledge in the House of Commons regarding the military service of unmarried men. It is now necessary to redeem that pledge in order to maintain the voluntary principle as regards the service of married men in the future.
So far we have been able to provide for the large increase of the Army and its maintenance on a purely voluntary system, and I, personally, had always hoped that we should be able to finish the war successfully without changing that system, which 816 has done so well and which has given us such splendid material in the field as the soldiers now fighting in the different theatres of war. I do not consider that the change proposed should be regarded in the light of any derogation of the principle of voluntary service in this country. It only affects, during the period of the war, one class of men, amongst whom there are undoubtedly a certain number who have but a poor idea of their duties as citizens and require some persuasion greater than appeal to bring them to the Colours.
Whilst there are in the class affected some such shirkers, there are no doubt many whose reasons for not joining will be found valid, and I am very far from wishing it to be thought that all those to whom the new proposals will apply can he described by the term I have used for some of them. Many of these men probably have conflicting calls upon them, and will be only too happy that the Government should resolve the doubts which they have been unable to decide for themselves. In making these remarks to your Lordships I speak only as a soldier, with a single eye to the successful conduct of the war. I feel sure every one will agree when I say that the fullest and fairest trial has been given to the system which I found in existence, and of which I felt it my duty to make the best use. We are now asking Parliament to sanction a change, as it has been proved that, in the special circumstances of this utterly unprecedented struggle, the existing system without modification is not equal to maintaining the Army which is needed to secure victory.
§ VISCOUNT MIDLETONMy Lords, I am sure that every one will welcome the statements to which we have just listened, but I trust I shall not seem ungrateful if I express the hope that on other occasions when important statements are going to be made it will be found possible to give some notice in the Minutes of the intention, so as to secure the attendance of the many Peers who would desire to be present and also give a fair opportunity to any noble Lord who may desire to ask a question upon the statements made. There are no Notices or Orders of the Day on the Paper for this afternoon, and many noble Lords were unaware that important statements were to be made. I desire, on behalf of 817 some of my friends, to put a few questions to the noble and gallant Earl. Before doing so I am sure that every one on all sides of the House would wish to join in the hearty congratulations which have been addressed by His Majesty's Government and the sense which they have expressed of the obligations of the whole country to my noble friend Lord Derby for the admirable, successful, and tactful effort he has made to get over this thorny subject. I am confident that if other questions connected with the war were handled with the same courage and foresight, we should derive great advantage before many months were over.
I should like to ask when we may hope to hear from the noble and gallant Earl any further statement upon the history of the war such as those he has given to your Lordships' House on previous occasions. More especially, we should like to know whether he can see his way to publish the Despatch of Sir Ian Hamilton. It was understood in another place that the publication of that Despatch had been promised, but it was suggested that it was still under the pen of Sir Ion Hamilton. I do not know how that stands at the present moment, but if the Report has been received by the noble and gallant Earl perhaps he can tell us how soon he in a position to publish it. We would also be very glad if, in regard to other operations in the Near East, the time should shortly come when the Secretary of State for War found himself able to give us more accurate information than has hitherto been conveyed to the country.
Then there is the question of expenditure, upon which members of the House would be glad if some information could be given. The cost of the war has gone up to the prodigious figure of £5,000,000 a day. We are conducting, I believe, seven different expeditions, and there is a general feeling of apprehension, not merely with regard to the supply of men, which has been the subject of the speeches to which we have listened this afternoon, but with regard to finance. It is felt that we may find ourselves in considerable straits unless 818 a most careful estimate is made of the resources of the ration. I do not ask the noble and gallant Earl to make any statement with regard to the resources of the nation; but perhaps he will consider whether, on some future occasion, he could not tell us what share of the present expenditure of £5,000,000 a day is due to subsidiary expeditions as compared with the cost of the main Forces in France and Flanders. I do not ask for any details, but only whether it is possible for the noble and gallant Earl to reassure your Lordships on that point by a statement in general terms. I am not putting these questions on my own behalf alone. It is felt by a considerable number of those who attend this House that some further information on these subjects should be afforded as soon as the Government are in a position to do so.
§ EARL KITCHENERMy Lords, the noble Viscount has asked me certain questions, and I will give him the best answers I can now. As regards my own statements on the military situation, I have tried to choose those periods on which the statements made could be of most interest and could give some final point of the war. At the present moment I did not think it advisable to make any statement of this nature. With regard to Sir Ian Hamilton's Despatch, that document has been quite recently placed in my hands. It is a very long Despatch and has taken a little time, but it is now in the hands of the publisher and will be available in a very few days. As regards the financial position of the various expeditions in which we are engaged, it would be difficult without notice to give any definite figures. But I may say that the principal Army of this country is in France and Flanders, that the expenditure is in France and Flanders, and that the subsidiary expeditions are small from the financial aspect in comparison with the expenditure which is taking place in the main theatre of the war.
§ House adjourned at ten minutes past Five o'clock, till To-morrow, a quarter past Four o'clock.