THE AIR SERVICE. (Hansard, 15 March 1916)

§ THE EARL OF DERBY
My Lords, again I have to trouble your Lordships with a somewhat lengthy answer. I thank the noble Lord for giving me in his Question my proper designation as representing an inter-Departmental Committee. I very much regret my absence on the occasion of the debate last week. It was not due to discourtesy to the noble Lord, who I think knew the reason of my absence. I am also sorry that I gave in what I said on a former occasion any impression that I minimised the importance of the Committee of which I have the honour 410 of being chairman. I did not wish to minimise it, but only to prevent the public from magnifying it. So many statements had been made with regard to one's position and one's powers that I thought it was very desirable to put at all events briefly my position. I am able to do it at greater length at the present moment. I am glad to think that the noble Lord will know the functions of the Committee as well as, or perhaps even better than, I do myself, because he has consented at the request of the Prime Minister to come on the Committee. I am sure nothing could give greater confidence to the country at large that the Committee will endeavour to do good work for the Air Service than the appointment of Lord Montagu as one of its members.
This Committee is quite rightly called an inter-Departmental Committee. The chief ends to be attained by the Committee can practically be summed up in one paragraph—namely, to ensure that the manufacture, supply, and distribution of material required by aircraft are in accordance with the policy of aerial warfare laid down by His Majesty's Government; to avoid clashing or overlapping demands upon the manufacturing resources available, while securing the full and harmonious use of the same; and to eliminate correspondence between the Departments upon points which affect more than one. This Committee, as I have pointed out, has nothing to do with the defence of this kingdom against aircraft. That is quite rightly left in the hands of Lord French. Air policy is not framed by the Committee, but may, of course, be affected to a certain extent when we go into the question of production of aircraft by the information we are able to give to the War Committee. The air policy has been laid down by His Majesty's Government. Each branch of the Service has its own duty to perform, and the duty of the Committee is to see as far as it can that all that each branch requires to carry out the policy laid down is placed at its disposal.
It is to prevent overlapping, to provide closer intercommunication between the two Departments, that this Committee has been formed; and I am glad to say that even in the short time we have been in existence we have been able materially to help the joint work of the two branches of the Air Service. For instance—I must 411 not give figures—there was an urgent need from one branch for a certain kind of aircraft. By discussing the matter that particular kind was put at the disposal of that branch and was of great value to it, while in return the branch was able to release other machines which were more useful to the naval branch. I hope we shall increase the output. We have at the present moment no executive work; the executive work is carried out by the two branches of the Air Service. But I feel that this Committee is only the beginning of what may be a very large departure in this kingdom. I hope that we shall be able to bring the two branches so closely together that there can be no question of competition between the two, and I am strongly of opinion that we shall be able to justify the confidence that has been placed in us by His Majesty's Government.
It is impossible to say what is in the future. All I can say is that I personally should not have the least hesitation in asking the Prime Minister to relieve me of my post of chairman if I felt, that the work was beyond my scope or necessitated my abandoning my work at the War Office. And I should do that all the more readily since I know that I am going to have as a colleague my noble friend Lord Montagu, whose experience in matters connected with the air will now, I hope, be given that full scope which ought to be, and which can be, of such benefit to the nation at large.

§ LORD MONTAGU OF BEAULIEU
My Lords, I thank the noble Earl for his full answer to my Question. At the request of the Prime Minister I have become a member of the Committee. I feel it to be my duty to help in every way I can at this crisis, and any service that I can give to this Committee will be gladly and freely given. I trust that what the noble Earl has said as to the extension of the functions of the Committee will take place before long, because I feel, with him—and I said so last Thursday—that it, should be the nucleus of something much larger which should be able to do more than the present Committee is doing. No doubt His Majesty's Government in course of time will reconsider this question very carefully and see whether they cannot make this a Committee of extended usefulness.

§ LORD RATHCREEDAN
My Lords, in venturing to address Your Lordships' House this evening I feel that I can claim that indulgence which your Lordships are always generous to afford to one who addresses you for the first time. My reason for venturing to intervene in this debate is this. Through a great number of years I was in complete sympathy in almost all respects with the Party to which I belonged in another place, but there was one point upon which I was at variance with them—namely, the position which was taken up with reference to military service; and as this Committee has now been formed with reference to the Air Service perhaps I may state that, in co-operation with the noble Earl opposite, who has taken such an interest in the question of the universal liability of the citizens of this country to military service, I have always held the view that it was immaterial what amount of training the man was subjected to, or whether this general liability to military service was exercised through local and municipal councils or through the War Office, but that it was imperatively necessary that the Government of this country should have the power of demanding the service of every citizen in time of need. However, prœterita revocare non possumus. But I do say that the moment has now arisen when in the interests of the country some further steps should be taken to give the Government complete power over the fighting manhood of the nation. We are all deeply grateful to the noble Earl for what he has done so self-sacrificingly in the interests of filling up the gaps in the ranks, and I believe the people of the country are deeply grateful to him also. There was a time when we were led to believe that this country was absolutely safe as long as we had the Navy. I have no desire to under-rate what has been done by the Navy—

§ THE EARL OF DERBY
May I interrupt the noble Lord, who was a personal friend of mine in the old days in the House of Commons The rules of order in this House are rather different from what they are in another place, but I am afraid the noble Lord is speaking on a question beyond which we have passed. We are now on the Air Service.

§ LORD RATHCREEDAN
I thoroughly understand, and I purpose dealing with the Air Service. I desire to point out that the noble Earl's great difficulty is 413 this, that at the present moment there are large numbers of single men, many of whom are not suited for the Air Service, who undoubtedly joined it for the purpose of sheltering themselves behind that Service and thereby avoiding the military service which they ought to have joined. What I was about to point out was that the necessity for developing the Air Service has become greater than ever owing to the fact that formerly we could have relied on our Navy to a large extent to defend us. We have had great disasters in this country—large numbers of raids; and we have had men, women, and children killed 414 and grievously injured without the Navy being in a position to do much to assist us. Now if the Government of the day would take to themselves the power of drawing upon the entire manhood of the country, married and unmarried, and if the Air Service were able to select from the best and most skilful mechanics throughout the country the men they require both for construction and for flying, we would be in a far better position than we are at the present moment.