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FARMERS' COLUMN.I

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I --SIR FRANCIS EDWARDS, M.P.…

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I SIR FRANCIS EDWARDS, M.P. Sir Francis Edwards, M.P.. said there were three things wanted, viz., men, money and service. They could not all go to fight and they could not all lend money, hut it was possible for them all to do what- ever work they could. (Applause.) Work was wanted in thre-e directions, viz., for munitions, for agriculture, and for Government departments. Theirs was an ag- ricultural community, and they all felt that it was most unfortunate that the Hoard of Agriculture bad not been able to come some clearer understanding with regard to the withdrawal of men from the land. Per- sonally, he felt that this work had been done verv haphazardly and to the detriment of agriculture, and now it was coming home to them, especially in view of the ruthless submarine, policy Germany had adopted. They ought to do all they could to conserve what lab- our was left on the land, and he believed there were many in Presteign, Knighton. Rhayader and Llandrin- dod Wells who could render valuable help by ofterinsr for service on the land, It was essentia! that I I Everybody Should Enrol, I as the Government wanted to know where labour was abundant and where labour was lacking, and he felt sure that the appeal the Government was making would not fall on deaf ears, in Llandrindod Wells. He believed they would respond, to this appeal, as they had done to others, in a magnificent way. I Stupendous Figures. I 1 roceediiig. Sir Francis pointed out that, according to the last speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, they were now spending nearly £ 6,000.000 per day on the war, and, by May of this year, the National Debt would have assumed the gigantic proportions of AC4000,000,000 (four thousand millions). That was an astounding figure. When they went to war in 1914 the National Debt was 1600,000,000, and they thought that was a gigantic figure. After the Boer War the National Debt was something under £ 700,000,000. Now everything, so far as finance was concerned, seemed to depend upon this country, an they had actually advanced to their Allies and Dependencies a figure which was in excess of the National Debt at the beginning of the war, viz., t>»90,01X1,000. That was a gigantic sum. They were lend- ing that sum, and they hoped to get it back again. There was, however, no certainty about the matter. and they would have, as Mr A.^quith said, "to wait and -•ee." (Laughter.) The Government made its appeal for funds for the war on several grounds. First, it appealed to their sense of patriotism. What was patriotism? It. was not merely love of country. The Germans loved their country, and they knew what their idea of love for their country was. It. meant aggrandisement. Patriotism did not mean that to them. They loved their country because it represented to them' every- thing that was best worth living for. all that was high- est, and the spirit of self-sacrifice. Their Army was imbued with these ideals. They were not fighting for aggrandisement, but. for upholding true righteousness and freedom amongst the nations. (Applause.) Secondly, investment war loan or war certificates I Was Good Business. I Sometimes .onie of them were a»ked to lend money on poor security and sometimes no security at all— (Iauglrt.er)-but now they had the Government offering the security of the British Empire combined with the best interest. He was amazed that anybody • who had money at all should decline to lend. (Applause.) There was a third reason why they should respond to this appeal, and it must be mentioned. At the present time the Government were saying, like the railway porter. "By-your leave there, sir. please"; but if the nation failed to respond to the necessary extent, the Government would take the attitude of the police con- stable and say. "Get a move on you there." (Laughter.) If the Government had to do that they would not offer the terms they were offering now. but they would have to part, and they would have to grin and bear it. -The appeal was to all of them. Pence and shillings were wanted as well as pounds. It was also a personal ap- peal. There were spots on the sun. and one of the blemishes of the British character was that they were rather too apt to be particularly careful as to what their neighbour ought to do. Their duty to their neigh- bour was what they were taught, but what they often considered was what was the duty of their neighbour. (Laughter.) They did not want that now. The success of the loan depended upon each one of them. To re- spond as they should do may mean some sacrifice, but what was any sacrifice of theirs as compared with that of their own men or their kinsmen from the Colonies? These men had given up comfortable homes and posi- tions of great influence and responsibility. Many had given their limbs and many had given their lives, It I was surely No Creat Sacrifice I for them to contribute what they could so ;\s to help 1n I make the lot of the soldier a little more comfortable and to hasten the day whtn the war would be over. Proceeding, Sir Francis dealt with the splendid service I rendered by Mr Lloyd George in respect of munitions, saying that there were now 2} million people engaged in the turning out of munitions, and that all these people had to be paid. -rhey all ought to be in deadly i-arnest. They had never been In a crisis like this he'. fore. They had a strong Army against them, and they were hated with a deadly hatred. Their enemies were deadly in earnest. They had set out to conquer Europe. They had dreamed dreams of an empire ex. I tending from the North Sea to the Persian Gulf. Woe to Europe and to this country if that dream was ever realised. This was what they had to prevent, and to do so the nation had to see to it that the men in the' ¡ field were short of nothing that was essential to th" securing of victory. (Applause.) Their.- was a country ¡. worth lighting for. If they doubted that, let them compare their position with that of Germany. Here they governed themselves, and there the people were governed by the Kaiser. Here, what was largely a Volunteer Army carried out the will of the nation; there the whole of the German nation carried out the I will of the Army, as expressed by the Kaiser. The war to them was a crusade. They went into it in 1914 for the sake of Belgium, but now. in 1917, they were still more justified in continuing it. for the crime to Bel. gium had been alniost forgotten in face of all the other iniquities perpetrated by the Huns on land and sea. (Applause.) They were fighting for right as against might. Courage and endurance were still necessary. They had never failed in these in the past, and. for the sake of the men who were fighting for them, he hoped they would not fail now in this great crisis, but that they would act worthy of the traditions of this great Empire. (Loud applause.) The Rector submitted the statement that behind the German ambitions and ruthlessness was the spirit of anti-Christ, which had been fostered and encouraged h the growth of rationalism and the denials of such funda- mentals of the faith as the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He expressed the view that the Army in Mesopotamia had prevented Mahommedans rising against Christians and also serious trouble in India: and he described our aim, in the war as-being moral and missionary. The German people, he said, did not know all that had been going on. They had been de- luded. hood-winked, and deceived; and there would be a day of reckoning for the Prussians. In addition to all the other reasons given for supporting the loan, he gave the further one that money is urgently needed to pay for the produce and food supplies which come from other countries. It was vital and essential that British credit should be keot up. The surplus of their Church accounts had been invested in War savings; and he felt that the appeal of the Government must reach every- one who had a conscience.at all. (Applause). Mr David .Tones emphasised the fact that War Sav- ings Certificates could be obtained after the Loan was closed, and he argued that there was no simpler or bet- ter investment in the world. The five associations at work in Llandrindod Wells now had the sum of £ 9fi0 t-o their credit—(applause)—and the heater part of this money had been taken to the schools by the children. Something further could be done. and he would like to see twO associations established for young women, dom- estic servants, and others. Newbridge-on-Wye had raised the splendid sum of £ 411 in a fortnieht—(ap- nlause)—and the 1.120 associations in England and Wales had already invested R60.000.000 in War Saving Certificates. (Applause). Before March was out. he believed he was right in saying that they would have; an Association in every town, every village, and every school in the county, and he wished he could add, and every church and chapel as well. (Applause). Replying to Councillor C. TO Williams. Sir Francis Edwards said the War Loan was intended for those who could put their money into it and leave it there for the

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I --SIR FRANCIS EDWARDS, M.P.…