ENGLAND AND GERMANY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3378, 20 November 1911, Page 5

ENGLAND AND GERMANY.

MR. LLOYD GEORGE’S REMARKS.

STILL CAUSING DISCUSSION.

(United Press Association —Copyright.) BERLIN. Nov. 17. The Budget Committee in the Reichstag has requested the Government to give full information as to Mr Lloyd George’s, speech and the causes which Herr von Bethmann Hollweg’s speech did not touch. The Government’s answer will probably be confidential. Tho Frankfurt Times declares that the Radical party’s contention that the relations of England and Germany were critical in September is not supported in well-informed circles.

.Herr Benstein, a Socialist writer, states' .that Mr liamsay MacDonald had informed him that Britain # had sent Germany a friendly communication regarding Morocco, which was not answered. A fortnight later Britain repeated the inquiry, and Mr MacDonald stated that the German answer was an insult. Thereupon followed Mr Lloyd George’s speech. Mr Lloyd George, in a recent speech, without specially naming any Power, emphatically declared that where vital interests were concerned Great Britain would not allow herself to be tre;> ted as of no account in the Cabinet of nations.

MOMENTOUS CRISIS ALLEGED.

BRITAIN SAID TO HAVE BEEN UNPREPARED.

(Received Nov. 18, 5.15 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 18. Capt. Faber, a member of the House of Commons, made a remarkable speech at Andover, alleging that when the Moroqcan situation was acute Cabinet was divided whether to stick to France. Mr Lloyd-George resolutely upheld adhesion to France, and the situation revealed naval unpreparedness, hence Mr Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, and his subsequent conference with Lord Beresford and the proposal for the creation of a war staff. C’i . .' ', f y...

When the pinch occurred the British fleet were divided, the first division being at the South of England, the second at Ireland, and the third at Scotland. . At that moment the Admiralty had lost sight of the German fleet. Cabinet did. not know what was going on, but were aware that Germany might ■ attack, the three fleets separately, The Admiral in charge of one part of the fleet knew of the danger, and asked the officer commanding the land forces if the fleet were safe under cover of the guns of the forts. The officer replied that if the forts fired the guns would hit’ the 'fleet instead of covering them.

The Cabinet, he said, was wise enough to' send Sir Churchill, their best man, to the admiralty in this emergency. Mr _ Churchill immediately wired to Admiral Fisher to return from Switzerland, and he consulted Lord Beresford regarding the War Board, to see that no further mistakes were made respecting coal and forts being unable to protect the fleet. During the late crisis, when the relation of France and Germany was strained, the idea was to send six divisions of regulars to help France, which would have left Britain defenceless, except for the navy. Capt. Faber’s speech explains the withdrawal of Lord Beresford’s book dealing with naval matters two days after the interview with Mr Churchill. REMARKS CHALLENGED. ENGLAND’S. ELEET IN PERFECT ’ ' COMMAND. (Received November 20, 12.40 a.m.) LONDON, Nov. 19. The “Observer” corrects Capt. Faber in several particulars. It says that the fleet divisions at Cromarly, .Rosyth and the Channel were never out of touch of the German fleet movements. It adds that one division could have upheld it, as it consisted of fourteen ships, three only being Dreadnoughts, and another division could have smashed it.