Lately the quarrel between Lord Fisher and Mr. Churchill proved to be irreconcilable, and Lord Fisher sent in his resignation at the week-end. It is now hoped that he will withdraw his resignation, and the possibility of Mr. Churchill replacing Lord Crewe at the India Office or taking another office is being discussed.
Second—The Cabinet have not been kept informed by Lord Kitchener as to the supplies of high explosive shells sent out to our troops at the front. It is the fact that huge supplies of shells have been and are being sent out, but the proportion of shrapnel is greater than the proportion of high explosive shells, and the army command require that the proportion of high explosive shells should be greater. The fact that the Cabinet have been to some extent in the dark of late on this matter accounts for some apparent discrepancies in recent Ministerial statements.
Third—The Opposition leaders were in possession of the facts as to the high explosive shells, and threatened a debate in the House of Commons, in which their statements should be proved. Such a debate would have gravely undermined the authority of the Government, and, coupled with the tendered resignation of Lord Fisher, and the consequent disappearance either of the First Sea Lord or Mr. Churchill, would in all human probability have led to the disastrous downfall of the King's Government in the midst of the national peril of this war, with consequences most lamentable.
Fourth—There have been on both sides some leading statesmen in favor of a coalition Ministry for the prosecution of the war. They are few, but influential. They perceived that the curious circumstances that had arisen offered a brilliant opportunity to achieve a coalition, and they seized the opportunity. It should certainly be assumed that they were actuated by national motives, since their action may have averted the downfall of one of the greatest Governments of modern times in a time of national peril.
Lloyd George’s Appeal to Labor
In a speech at Manchester on June 4, and again on June 5, before the employers and workmen of Lancashire, the new Minister of Munitions announced his policy of discontinuing the methods of red tape that had hindered the mobilization of labor for the production of arms and ammunition. His speech at Lancashire appears below in full.
I have come here not for speech but for business, and I shall only indulge in speech to the extent that speaking is the essential preliminary to business. I placed yesterday before a meeting in Manchester my general views of the position, and I have very little to add to what I then said. But I have come here to appeal for the assistance of the men of Liverpool and the surrounding districts.
The situation is a serious one. It is as grave a situation as this country has ever been confronted with. You need have no special knowledge in order to ascertain that yourselves. A careful, intelligent perusal of the published dispatches in the newspapers must have caused you to come to the conclusion that this country is engaging one of the most formidable enemies that it has ever waged war against.
The issues are great, the perils are great, and nothing can pull us through but the united effort of every man in the British Empire. If you look at what our brave fellows are doing at the front you can see the perils there facing them, the trials, the privations, and they are doing it without flinching. ["Hear, hear!">[ Never in the history of this country have our men shown greater courage and endurance than they have during this war. They have done all you can expect of mortal man.