Nelson's history of the war. Vol. XI., The struggle for the Dvina, and the great invasion of Serbia

THE POLITICAL SITUATION. 71

paign must be left for a later chapter, but we may note here the main lines of the proposal. Men were to be recruited in forty-six groups, according to age, the married men filling the second twentythree, and these groups were to be called up as occasion required. Local committees were empowered to ‘star’ men who were required for indispensable industries, and men who registered under the scheme could bring their claims for exemption later before a special tribunal. The machinery, in short, was that familiar under conscription, save that it was a little more cumbrous and lacked the driving power of legal compulsion.

In his speech on 2nd November the Prime Minister had referred to the financial position as serious, but as affording no grounds for pessimism. A short review at this point is desirable if the reader is to grasp the precise nature of the British problem. Our peculiar difficulties have been sketched in earlier chapters, and they may be briefly recapitulated. A mere speculation as to the staying powers of the rival belligerents was a barren enterprise, unless the difference between the demands on their endurance was realized. On the general question the Prime Minister was right. “I do not think our position compares unfavourably with that of the Governments who are opposed to us. The consumption of the German Government and the German nation has been far in excess of what they have been able to produce or import, and their stocks of available commodities are, from all we hear, rapidly diminishing and dwindling. Further, the standard of life of the greater part of the popula-