The Expeditionary Force has taken the field on the French north-west frontier, and has advanced to the neighbourhood of Mons, in Belgium. Our troops have already been for thirty-six hours in contact with a superior force of German invaders. During that time they have maintained the traditions of British soldiers, and have behaved with the utmost gallantry. The movements which they have been called upon to execute have been those which demand the greatest steadiness in the soldiers, and skill in their commanders. Sir John French telegraphed to me at midnight, as follows: "In spite of hard marching and fighting, the British force is in the best of spirits." I replied: "Congratulate troops on their splendid work. We are all proud of them." As your lordships are aware, European fighting causes greater casualties than the campaigns in which we are generally engaged in other parts of the world. The nation will, I am sure, be fully prepared to meet whatever losses and sacrifices we may have to make in this war. Sir John French, without having been able to verify the numbers, estimates the loss since the commencement of active operations at rather more than 2,000 men _hors-de-combat_. As to the work of the last few weeks, I have to remark that when war was declared, mobilisation took place without any hitch whatever, and our Expeditionary Force proved itself wholly efficient, well equipped, and immediately ready to take the field. The Press and the public have, in their respective spheres, lent invaluable aid to the Government in preserving a discreet silence, which the exigencies of the situation obviously demanded, and I gladly take this opportunity of bearing testimony to the value of their co-operation. The hands of the military authorities were also strengthened by the readiness with which the civilian community faced and accepted the novel situation created by the issue of requisitions for horses, transport, supplies and billets. The railway companies, in the all-important matter of the transport facilities, have more than justified the complete confidence reposed in them by the War Office, all grades of railway services having laboured with untiring energy and patience. And it is well to repeat that the conveyance of our troops across the Channel was accomplished, thanks to the cordial co-operation of the Admiralty, with perfect smoothness and without any untoward incident whatever. We know how deeply the French people appreciate the value of the prompt assistance we have been able to afford them at the very outset of the war, and it is obvious that not only the moral but the material support our troops are now rendering must prove to be a factor of high military significance in restricting the sphere and determining the duration of hostilities.