Our respect for Mr. Prothero is deepened by his loyal
acceptance of a decision which threatens to undo much of his excellent work. On the very eve of the great harvest for which he has toiled un- ceasingly, he had to admit that the crops may go ungathered for want of the skilled men who are being taken away. But he forced himself and the nation to recognize that the decision, however tragic, was final. Victory must be won, though we go short of food. What surprises and distresses us is that no member of the House had the courage to ask why this cruel situation had arisen, or to give the only true answer to the question ; namely, that the Govern- ment have trifled with the fundamental problem of Man-Power until the crisis that any one could have foreseen a year ago was upon us. If Conscription had been applied to Ireland last year, or even last April, we should not now have to risk the loss of part of our harvest, nor should we have to send half-trained British peasants into the firing-line against well-trained German " storm troops." This is the price that we are paying for the Government's weakness in regard to Ireland.
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