terrible. It is not from the ordinary soldier, it is not from below that restraint can be expected. It must come, if it comes at all, from above. But here outrages come not from below, but from above. They are not the result of accident, but of design. They are part of a principle—the principle by any means, at any expense to the lives of defenceless men or of helpless women and children, to spread terror in a country and facilitate German arms. [Cheers.] This is, as the Prime Minister said, a moral and spiritual conflict, and believe me, in the long run, the moral and spiritual are stronger than the material forces.
The object of this meeting and of the speech to which we have just listened is to appeal to the manhood of our country to rally once again around the old flag. That appeal will not be made, is not being made, in vain. [Cheers.] Our people had only to realize, as at first they did not quite realize, what issues were at stake, to come forward with all the spirit of their fathers. That lesson is being driven home now by influences stronger far than any speeches. It has been taught by the heroic stedfastness of the Belgian people. It is being taught now by the knowledge that but for the sure shield of our Navy, a shield which, if we fail to conquer, cannot save us, our fate to-day would be the fate of Belgium. It is being taught above all by the accounts, meagre though they are, of what has been done by our soldiers on the fields of battle. [Cheers.]
With that mistaken estimate of themselves and of others, which is one of the explanations of this war, the Germans before and after this outbreak have spoken of us as a decadent nation. Do they say that to-day? [Cries of "No."] Let the long-drawn-out fight which began at Mons give the answer. [Cheers.] There our troops, pitted against the choicest troops of the German Army, and outnumbered by nearly three to one, as I believe, were undefeated and unbroken. [Cheers.] And when the story of that fight comes to be written, it is my belief that it will form as glorious a page as is to be found in the whole annals of our history. [Cheers.] The men will come. [Cheers.] There is no doubt about that. Everywhere I find the same spirit; every one asking, "What can I do to help my country?" Many of those whom I am addressing are, like the Prime Minister and myself, unable to take their places in the fighting line. It is not right, it is not fair, that we should make an appeal for sacrifice to the patriotism of those only who are able and willing to fight our battles. An
