Lord Curzon, addressing the Primrose League on Friday week, expressed
his belief that the country, the Army, the Allied Forces, and the Empire as a whole would sooner have the present Prime Minister at the helm than any other statesman. The present Govern- ment were not indispensable or immune from criticism, but they could not do their work in an atmosphere of perpetual innuendo and intrigue. " If you expect us to conduct the war abroad, for God's sake give us peace at home." Generals and Admirals should not be used as stalking-horses. The military must be subordinate to the civil power, for the politicians were held responsible for the success or failure of the war. If the soldier was to be free from political criticism, he should not take part in politics. Lord Curzon said he believed General Maurice to have acted from the most honest and disinterested motives, though he had " left his judgment and common-sense behind him." General Maurice's charges had had a " complete " answer, and the verdict of the House was " over- whelming."
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