George was not satisfied.
He sought to stir the Cabinet to sterner work. The Cabinet was not by
any means ineffective, but there was not enough driving force in it to
please the Welshman. He wanted far wider and stronger measures taken
in order to enlist the whole strength of the British people. Fiercely,
day by day, the Northcliffe journals attacked Mr. Asquith, often with
unfairness, and always did they exalt Lloyd George as the only man in
the Cabinet who was really fit to lead. Then Lloyd George issued a
column prognostication as the preface to a book, and it caused a great
sensation. Here is what he said: "Nothing but our best and utmost can
pull us through. If the nation hesitates when the need is clear to
take the necessary steps to call forth its young manhood to defend
honor and existence, if vital decisions are postponed until too late,
if we neglect to make ready for all probable eventualities, if, in
effect, we give ground for the accusation that we are slouching into
disaster, as if we were walking along the paths of peace without an
enemy in sight, then I can see no hope; but if we sacrifice all we own
and all we like for our native land, if our preparations are
characterized by grip, resolution, and prompt readiness in every
sphere, then victory is assured."

This was a direct attack on the Cabinet, of which, of course, Lloyd
George was a member. His words meant that the Government was
proceeding along conventional paths, and not rising to great
emergencies, and was lacking that desperate resolution so necessary in
war. Thus it was that Lloyd George threw out to the world more than a
hint of the difficulties he had had with different departments.

Northcliffe acclaimed this message heavens high. Some Liberals, on the
other hand, began to see in Lloyd George an intriguer for the position
of Prime Minister, and Lloyd George, not the first time in his life,
throwing past prejudices and principles to the winds, came out as a
strong supporter of conscription for the nation. Every young man must
be serving his country either in the munition-factory or on the field
of battle.

X

AT HIGH PRESSURE

The fundamental difficulty between Lloyd George and some of his
colleagues was that he had ideas about running the country which were
at variance with theirs. His Celtic temperament could not tolerate the
slow muddling-through process, was impatient for daring new methods.
He was disinclined for