In the Commons on Monday the Military Service Bill was
debated on the report stage and the third reading. Mr. Pringle and others seemed to think that though Mr. Asquith had pro- mised that no compulsion should be applied to labour, Mr. Lloyd George might not be bound by that pledge. Mr_ Bonar Law said that the pledge of course bound the whole Cabinet, including the Minister of Munitions. It had been hoped that Sir John Simon would not think it necessary to divide the House on the third reading. Any trace of division is an encouragement to the enemy and a discouraging sign of disunion to our men at the front, as Mr. Mildmay pointed out. Sir John Simon, how- ever, while admitting that his criticisms had been fairly met, insisted on a division. Mr. Thomas once more passionately declaimed against the Bill in a series of forebodings which were one and all answered by Mr. Boner Law's concluding speech for the Government.
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