THE NEW GOVERNMENT.

EXTRACTS FROM A SPEECH DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON BECOMING PREMIER, DECEMBER 19TH, 1916.

I APPEAR before the House of Commons to-day, with the most terrible responsibility that can fall upon the shoulders of any living man, as the chief adviser of the Crown, in the most gigantic war in which the country has ever been engaged-a war upon the event of which its destiny depends. It is the greatest war ever waged. The burdens are the heaviest that have been cast upon this or any other country, and the issues which hang upon it are the gravest that have been attached to any conflict in which humanity has ever been involved.

Allies' Answer to the Peace Note.

The responsibilities of the new Government have been suddenly accentuated by a declaration made by the German Chancellor, and I propose to deal with that at once. The statement made by him in the German Reichstag has been followed by a Note presented to us by the United States of America without any note or comment. The answer that will be given by the Government will be given in full accord with all our brave Allies.

Naturally, there has been an interchange of views, not upon the Note, because it only recently arrived, but upon the speech which propelled it, and inasmuch as the Note itself is practically only a reproduction, or certainly a paraphrase, of the speech, the subject-matter of the Note itself has been discussed informally between the Allies, and I am very glad to be able to state that we have each of us separately and independently arrived at identical conclusions.

I am very glad that the first answer that was given to the statement of the German Chancellor was given by France and by Russia. They have the unquestionable right to give the first answer to such an invitation. The enemy is still on their soil; their sacrifices have been greater. The answer they have given has already appeared in all the papers, and I simply stand here to-day, on behalf of the Government, to give clear and definite support to the statement which they have already made. Let us examine what the statement is, and examine it calmly. Any man, or set of men, who wantonly, or without sufficient cause, prolonged a terrible conflict like this would have on their soul a crime that oceans could not cleanse. Upon the other hand it is equally true that any man, or set of men, who out of a sense of weariness or despair abandoned the struggle without achieving the high purpose for which we had entered into it, would be guilty of the costliest act of poltroonery ever perpetrated by any statesman. I should like to quote the very well known

words of Abraham Lincoln under similar conditions:

"We accepted this war for an object, and a worthy object, and the war will end when that object is attained. Under God I hope it will never end until that time."

Are we likely to achieve that object by accepting the invitation of the German Chancellor? That is the only question we have to put to ourselves. There has been some talk about proposals of peace. What are the proposals? There are none. To enter into a conference at the invitation of Germany, proclaiming herself victorious, without any knowledge of the proposals she intends to make, is to put our heads into a noose with the rope end in the hands of Germany.

"Taken in once."

This country is not altogether without experience in these matters. This is not the first time we have fought a great military despotism that was overshadowing Europe, and it will not be the first time we shall have helped to overthrow military despotism. We have an uncomfortable historical memory of these things, and we can recall that when one of the greatest of these despots had a purpose to serve in the working of his nefarious schemes, his favourite device was to appear in the garb of the angel of peace. He usually appeared under two conditions-first,

when he wished for time to assimilate his conquests, or to reorganise his forces for fresh conquests; and, secondly, when his subjects showed symptoms of fatigue and war weariness. Invariably the appeal was made in the name of humanity; and he demanded an end to bloodshed at which he professed himself to be horrified, but for which he himself was mainly responsible. Our ancestors were taken in once, and bitterly did they and Europe rue it. The time was devoted to reorganising his forces for a deadlier attack than ever upon the liberties of Europe.

Restitution, Reparation, Guarantees.

Examples of that kind cause us to regard this Note with a considerable measure of reminiscent disquiet. We feel that we ought to know, before we can give favourable consideration to such an invitation, that Germany is prepared to accede to the only terms on which it is possible for peace to be obtained and maintained in Europe. What are those terms? They have been repeatedly stated by all the leading statesmen of the Allies. My right hon. friend has stated them repeatedly here and outside:

"Restitution, reparation, guarantees against repetition."

Let me repeat again-complete restitution, full reparation, effectual guarantees. Did the German Chancellor use a single phrase to indicate that he

was prepared to concede such terms? Was there a hint of restitution? Was there any suggestion of reparation? Was there any indication of any security for the future that this outrage on civilisation would not be again perpetrated at the first profitable opportunity? The very substance and style of the speech constitute a denial of peace on the only terms on which peace is possible. He is not even conscious now that Germany has committed any offence against the rights of free nations. Listen to this from the Note:

"Not for an instant have they" (they being the Central Powers) "swerved from the conviction that the respect of rights of other nations is not in any degree incompatible with their own rights and legitimate interests."

When did they discover that? Where was the respect for the rights of other nations in Belgium and Serbia? Oh, that was self-defence! Menaced, I suppose, by the overwhelming armies of Belgium, the Germans had been intimidated into invading that country, to the burning of Belgian cities and villages, to the massacring of thousands of inhabitants, old and young, to the carrying of the survivors into bondage; yea, and they were carrying them into slavery at the very moment when this precious Note was being written about the unswerving conviction as to the respect of the rights of other nations! I suppose these outrages are the legitimate interest of Germany? We must know. That is not the mood of peace. If excuses