I never sympathized
with--I always resented--the view expressed at one time that our
citizens were holding back. There was no justification for it. [Cheers.]
At the outset they did not realize what it meant, but the moment they
did realize it they have shown that they are prepared to do their share
to fight the battles of their country. I am not going to say anything
about the difficulties in connection with recruiting this great force to
which the Prime Minister has referred. No one could have doubted that
difficulties of that kind would arise and that hardships would occur.
Criticism, I am sure, is not deprecated by the right honorable
gentleman, and ought not to be, if it is framed entirely with this
view--to make sure that everything that can be done is being done to
minimize the hardships and difficulties with which the authorities were
confronted. As the Prime Minister said, the machine was not framed to
deal with an emergency like this. No one could expect it to deal with it
smoothly. But we have a right to expect that the difficulties are
understood at the War Office, and we have the right also to ask that
since they cannot be met by the central machine, every effort should be
made in the direction of devolution, and that the difficulties shall be
met where they locally arise.
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