1941-05-08 — Page 19

THE CHINA MAIL, MAY 8, 1941.

Ubrary, SipreITIO

Lloyd George's Speech On War Administration

RESUMPTION OF THE

debate on the

vote of confidence had been resumed by Mr. Lloyd George with a spirited speech.

t

He said that with the first part of the re- solution (expressing confidence in the Gov- ernment) everyone agrees but there were parts of the Government's war administra- tion on which there was dissatisfaction and (disappointment.

asked why

Mr. Lloyd George Mr. Eden, whilst talking about the loyalty of Turkey, withheld

through the

the fact that Turkey allowed Ger- man ships to pass Bophorus into tim Dardanelles to seize the Aegean Islands

Appealing or mure information, Mr. Lloyd George said "We are not an antile nation to with - hold unpleasant fets from. This nution has faced far ton manny crises and defeats in the past to be frightened by anything that has happened even up to the pre- sent."

Stimson Speech

Mr. Lloyd George thanked God,

Slimson's for Colonel

speech which showed that the Americans. realised the gravity of the posi- tion, but it was important "not to exaggerate what you are going to get or rather how quickly you are going to get it."

In the last

war, America put their fleet in the Atlantic while Japan guaranteed' the Pacific, but to-day the Americans had got 10 keep in mind that they are now the sole guardians of the Pacifle.

War Council

If America was going to enable us to catch up. and then to over- take Germany, she had got to do; initely more than any indica- tion he had heard of up to the present.

PREMIER ON DEFENCE

OF NILE

(Continued from Page 2.)

and turned to our grievous in- jury by the non-inventive but highly competent and imitative

Germans.

"FOR THE COMFORT OF MR. HORE-BELISHA, LET ME TELL HIM WE ARE MAKING EVERY MONTH NOW AS MANY TANKS AS THERE EXISTED IN THE

BRITISH ARMY AT THE TIME HE LEFT THE WAR OFFICE, AND THAT WE SHALL, BE- FORE THE END OF THIS YEAR, BE PRODUCING NEARLY DOUBLE THAT. THIS TAKES NO ACCOUNT OF THE IMMENSE PRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES."

"Loss of the Nile Valley and the Suez Canal, of our position in the Mediterranean, of Malta, would be among the heaviest blows we could sustain,

"We are determined to fight for them with all the resources of the British Empire and we have every reason to believe we shall be successful.

Half A Million Men

"General Wavell has under his orders at present nearly 500,000 men. A continuous flow of equip- ment has been in progress from this country during the last 10 months and now that Italian re- sistance in Abyssiniu, Africa and the Somaliland is collapsing, a steady concentration northwards

of all these forces is possible.

' indeed, it has been for many weeks rapidly proceeding. and General Smuts has ordered the splendid South African Army (Cheers) forward to the Mediterranean shord,

"But the warfare of the West- trn Desert, or any of the deserts

which surround Egypt, can only be conducted by comparative y small numbers of highly equip ped troops.

"Employment in the desert of

large numbers may only lead to disaster. That is what hap- pened to the Italiana.

"A total of 180,000 men lay along African soil and once the off it was not physically possible head of these forces was chopped

for them to retreat.

El Agheila

we

Comas

ONLY EIGHT

OF 205 SHIPS SUNK

"Only eight out of 205 ships that left American ports with supplies for Britain were sunk in the first three months of this year," déclared Sena- tor Vandenberg before the U.S. Senate yes- terday.

Senator Vandenberg said the Chairman of the U.S. Maritime Commission gave him these figures. Reuter.