On Tuesday in the Commons Mr. Asquith, though an- nouncing
that Lord Derby had not yet been able to supply him with the full figures, renewed his pledge to the married men, while at the same time appealing in very firm language to the young men to follow the example set them by the great mass of the people. It seems doubtful as we write whether Mr. Asquith will be in a position before the Christmas recess to declare whether the figures under Lord Derby's scheme require the carrying out of his pledge to use compulsion, but in any case we shall not be able to deal with the matter this week. Owing to the difficulties of transport, at Christmas time, we are obliged to go to press a day earlier than usual. We gather, however, from the general effect of the Prime Minister's words that, though the Derby figures will be very large, there remain over a I ody of young men who have not offered them- selves too great to be regarded as a negligible quantity.
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