New York Times Current History: The European War from the Beginning to March 1915, Vol 1, No. 2: Who Began the War, and Why?Various
History
New York Times Current History: The European War from the Beginning to March 1915, Vol 1, No. 2: Who Began the War, and Why?
Various
World War, 1914-1918
We want more men, and, perhaps most of all, the help for training them.
Every one in the whole of this kingdom who has in days gone by, as
officer or as non-commissioned officer, served his country never had a
greater or more fruitful opportunity for service than is presented to
him today. [Cheers.] We appeal to the manhood of the three kingdoms. To
such an appeal I know well, coming from your senior representative in
the House of Commons, that Scotland will not turn a deaf ear. [Cheers.]
Scotland is doing well, and, indeed, more than well, and no part of
Scotland I believe, in proportion, better than Edinburgh. I cannot say
with what pleasure I heard the figures given out by the Lord Provost and
those which have been supplied to me by the gallant gentleman who has
the Scottish command [cheers,] which show, indeed, as we expected, that
Scotland is more than holding her own. In that connection let me repeat
what I said two weeks ago in London. We think it of the highest
importance that so far as possible, and subject to the accidents of war,
people belonging to the same place, breathing the same atmosphere,
having the same associations, should be kept together.
Our recruits come to us spontaneously, under no kind of compulsion,
[cheers,] of their own free will to meet a national and an imperial
need. We present to them no material inducement in the shape either of
bounty or bribe, and they have to face the prospect of a spell of hard
training from which most of the comforts and all the luxuries that any
of them have been accustomed to are rigorously banished. But then, when
they are fully equipped for their patriotic task, they will have the
opportunity of striking a blow, it may be even of laying down their
lives, not to serve the cause of ambition or aggression, but to maintain
the honor and the good faith of our country, to shield the independence
of free States, to protect against brute force the principles of
civilization and the liberties of Europe. [Loud cheers.]
* * * * *
MR. ASQUITH AT DUBLIN.
Speech in the Round Room of the Mansion House, Sept. 25.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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