In the Lords Lord Curzon incidentally criticized the meagreness of
the information which we received about the Army abroad. He thought it would be possible to allow more to be written without injury to military plans, and the effect upon recruiting, if people at home were allowed to bear of glorious deeds by particular regiments, would certainly be good. Lord Selborne, commenting on the action in the Pacific, pointed out that even if the 'Canopus' had been with the other British ships the Germans could not have been forced to action, as the ' Canopus' was too slow. From this point of view the sending of the ' Canopus' was therefore obviously futile. We have discussed elsewhere Lord Crawford's remark- able statements about aliens. The Lord Chancellor said that but for the expedition to Antwerp the British troops might not be on the line which they now occupy. As for the action in the Pacific, it was impossible to know how the German ships would concentrate. The Scharnhorst ' and Gneisenau ' had been thousands of miles away just before. But the Admiralty had not yet enough information to answer all the questions that had arisen. The Address was agreed to.
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