and productive of glorious deeds, was terribly costly, and lasted
till late autumn without breaking through the German lines.
In the midst of this long-drawn-out battle, Britain entered the third year of war, with ample indications from King, minis-
ters, Empire and people that the struggle would be a F/ateh' pursued without flinching. Votes of credit multiplied.
In May Mr. Asquith obtained one for 300,000,000; at the end of July another for 450,000,000; and in October yet another for 300,000,000. Mr. Lloyd George, who was felt more and more to incarnate the spirit which possessed the Brit- ish people, told an American interviewer in September that the war could not be ended except by a complete victory. " The fight must be to a finish," he said; " to a knock-out." Lord Grey of Fallodon endorsed this opinion in October. There must be no peace, he said, except a peace which would ensure that Europe should henceforth live free from the shadow of Prussian militar- ism. And in November, in a telegram to Mr. Taft, on the occasion of a banquet in New York of a league to enforce peace, he ex- pressed a sincere desire to see a League of Nations formed and made effective, to secure the future peace of the world after the end of the present war.
Labour was restive this autumn. The railwaymen agitated for increased war bonuses, the South Wales section being par-
ticularly insistent, and made arrangements for a strike Restive- which was avoided by a doubling of the previous
m-.s.s- of , e j^i-.i
Labour. war bonus of 53. in some cases and 23. 6d. in others. The Labour Congress in September was not par- ticularly fruitful in suggestions, save that there was a call for a Labour Ministry. The coal-mining industry occupied much public attention. Mr. Asquith pointed out, at a conference of owners and men on Oct. 25, that the output had seriously fallen off, thus imperilling the supply of munitions. Avoidable ab- senteeism, the main cause, must be reduced, if not eliminated. Both masters and men promised cooperation. But serious trouble broke out in November in the South Wales coal-field, owing to demands for higher wages. The Government made a new regula- tion under the Defence of the Realm Act by which the Board of Trade were to have power to take over and work coal-mines. Under this they took over the South Wales coal-field, but found it necessary to grant an advance of 15% in wages.
The restiveness of Labour was largely due to difficulties about food. A Board of Trade Committee on food prices was appointed in June with Mr. J. M. Robertson as chair- man; and, with its report before him, Mr. Runciman announced that the Government had determined to control the importation of wheat, by the agency of a Royal Commission, with Lord Crawford as chairman. They had already made a large purchase of Australian wheat. A week later he mentioned that the Government had spent altogether over 60,000,000 in the purchase of meat ; and he explained that the bulk of the mercantile marine was running under Govern- ment control. But he declined the suggestions made by Mr. Barnes from the Labour side for appointing a Food Controller, or instituting bread tickets or coupons, or any system of ration- ing. A month later he announced that the Government had decided to appoint a Food Controller, that war bread would be instituted, that the Government would take drastic steps to deal with wheat and potatoes, that maximum prices would be fixed and that the amount of sugar issued would be seriously reduced. Another matter in which the Government were driven against their will to accept the view of the House, and especially of the Labour members, was the creation of a unified and com- prehensive Ministry of Pensions, instead of adopting the middle course of a Pensions Board of inadequate scope.
But the principal preoccupation of a confused autumn was the constantly recurrent problem of man-power. The army authorities believed that many young men had managed illegitimately to escape the obligations of the Military Service Acts; and they tried for a time, with little success, the system of " rounding up " men of military age at theatres, railway stations, football fields, parks, and other places of public resort. A more legitimate demand was for the
power.
" combing out " of suitable men from Government offices and in reserved trades; and a Man-Power Distribution Board was appointed, with Mr. Neville Chamberlain as chairman, which set about this necessary job. The question of raising the military age was considered by the War Office, but put aside for the moment. Arrangements were however made, by which a con- siderable number of suitable young men were released from civil occupations and drafted for military service. At the same time recognition was given to the new volunteers, elderly men who had come forward to perform such military duties in the Home defence of the country as their age and their disabilities permitted. The public in England and Scotland naturally resented the exclusion of Ireland from the Military Service Acts, and there was pressure for her inclusion, in which Irish Unionists joined; but Mr. Redmond declared that any project of the kind was insane. At the same time he attacked with some bitterness the system of Government in his country as entirely inconsistent with the principles for which the Allies were fighting in Europe. While ministers praised Mr. Redmond's labours for recruiting, they could not but acknowledge the poor contribution of Ireland in men to the war compared with the rest of the Empire.
As autumn passed into winter, and the prolonged Somme battle died down without the hopes with which it had begun having been realized, and news came that the Ger- mans had overrun the new Ally of the Western Discontent Powers, Rumania, and occupied Bucharest, the Ministry. irritation of ardent spirits against the delays and apparent want of efficiency of the Government gathered head. Criticism was largely focussed upon what was considered to be the " wait and see " temperament of the Prime Minister. New blood was also demanded for the Admiralty, the public having been disturbed by the comparative success and immunity of a recent German destroyer raid in the Straits of Dover; and at the end of November it was announced that Adml. Jellicoe would come there as First Sea Lord, Adml. Beatty succeeding him in command of the Grand Fleet. This change was welcomed, but more was desired, and was loudly Mr - Lloyd called for by a considerable section of the press, led rfemand. by The Times. Mr. Lloyd George, who, within the Ministry, shared to the full the public desire for greater energy and coordination in the conduct of the war, recognized that this was the moment to enforce his ideas. He concentrated upon the point which had been treated as vital more than a year before by The Times and by competent critics in Parliament, the ulti- mate responsibility for the civilian day by day conduct of the war. The War Committee, at the moment, consisted of Mr. Asquith, Mr. Bonar Law, Mr. Lloyd George, Mr. Balfour, Mr. McKenna, Lord Curzon and Mr. Montagu. But it was merely a Committee of a Cabinet of 23 members, and was sub- ject to the constant check and control of this miscellaneous and unwieldy body. On Dec. i Mr. Lloyd George, in a letter to the Prime Minister, demanded and enforced his demand with a threat of resignation a radical change of organization; namely that the conduct of the war should be placed in the absolute control of a small War Committee sitting daily and consisting of not more than four members, himself, Sir Edward Carson (a convinced supporter of an energetic policy), Mr. Bonar Law, and a Labour member. Mr. Asquith was pointedly omitted from the proposed body. He refused to agree, but determined, with the King's assent, to reconstruct his Govern- ment. Mr. Lloyd George endeavoured to build a golden Political bridge by consenting to admit the Prime Minister as 1916."' a consultative and advisory member of the Com- mittee, with the power of ultimate reference to the Cabinet. Mr. Asquith at first assented, but on second thought refused. After all, the essence of the scheme was that Mr. Lloyd George, with a very limited council of advisers, should direct the war, rather than Mr. Asquith. On Mr. Asquith's refusal, Mr. Lloyd George resigned, on Dec. 5- The defection of the most powerful man in the Ministry made it impossible for Mr. Asquith to continue, and he too resigned. The King sent for Mr. Bonar Law, the Unionist leader, but Mr. Law could not secure Mr. Asquith's
