22 MAY 1915, Page 2

In the House of Lords on Tuesday Lord Kitchener made

an important statement on the progress of the war. The French offensive south of La Bassee, which had been marked so far by complete success, was proceeding with every indica- tion of further satisfactory results. He hoped that the British offensive towards the Aubers Ridge, which wee part of a concerted plan, would achieve important results. The Russians now held a strong line from the Eastern Car- pathians to the Vistula, with Przemysl as the pivot. In Gallipoli the Turks, in spite of constant reinforcements, were being gradually forced to retire. Lord Kitchener paid • particularly high tribute to the Canadians, and said that the spirit and snored of our troops were never higher thaw now. The landing in Gallipoli had been "a masterpiece of organiza- tion, ingenuity, and courage." Referring to the supply of shells (meaning apparently shells of the type formerly supplied to our artillery), Lord Kitchener said that there had been delay owing to the almost unlimited demands upon the manufacturers, but the output had now considerably increased. The introduction of high-explosive shells was a new departure and had caused difficulty to the manufacturers. " I am con- fident," he added, "that in the very near future we shall be in a satisfactory position with regard to the supply of these shells."