12 JUNE 1915, Page 3

The speech, though eloquent, strikes us as unfortunate in many

respects. A call for action in the abstract is very dangerous. The problem is not to do something or anything, but to do the right thing—to act wisely, not merely to act. If this is not always kept in mind, we may get plane good in themselves spoilt or jeopardized by premature action, or by action not properly prepared, which may prove worse than no action. You must strike to destroy, not merely for the sake of striking. Equally unfortunate was Mr. Churchill's boastful references to the immediate situation in the Dardanelles. The feeling that it is unlucky to shout before you are out of the wood ie based on reason. Unfulfilled. prophecies by the nation's leaders in times of peril have a demoralizing effect.