Page:Great Speeches of the War.djvu/167

Rh humanity and culture of his German friends. [Applause.] An American writer has said that in times of war the motto for the patriot is "My country, right or wrong." [Hear, hear.] Well, I don't quarrel with that; I accept it, although to-day—thank Heaven—we need not have any qualms on the point; but I should also add, "My Government, good or bad." [Cheers.] And so, leaving for the moment, and until the last shot has been fired and the last sword sheathed, all question of criticism and of complaint, I appeal to you—and I know I do not appeal in vain—to stand shoulder to shoulder, as part of a great and mighty Empire united and indivisible, four-square to the common foe. [Loud cheers.]

That being my view of the duty of every patriotic man to-day, it does not follow that, when the time comes, there will not be many matters to be inquired into. There will be much to be said—scandals of feeding, clothing, equipping, paying, camping our recruits, and a score of other things as to which our lips are closed to-day. I suppose no man has been the recipient of more information, more complaints, on those subjects than have I; and I want to assure those soldiers and sailors and their wives and families and dependents who have confided in me their troubles, at least of this: that when the times comes I shall not hesitate to enlighten the nation upon many matters which it ought to know about, and shall not hesitate, regardless of persons or of the powers that be, to insist on the trial by court-martial of every man who has taken advantage of his country's hour of trouble to line his filthy pockets with gold at the expense of the State, and to the injury of the brave and splendid fellows who are fighting for us. [Cheers.] And the other assurance I want to give is that, in the meantime, all the resources which I can control—my staff, my organization—are being placed at the disposal of those who are doing their country's work, for the purpose, first, of investigating their alleged grievances, and, secondly, of bringing them to the notice of the Government and the various authorities with a view to getting them recognized and, to some extent, remedied. Though we do not talk in detail of such things to-day, take it from me that when the war is over we are going to have a searching audit into these affairs. [Applause.] And if I live, whether I sit in the House of Commons or whether I don't, believe me, I intend to be one of the auditors. [Cheers.] After all, ladies and gentlemen, we who are beyond the fighting age cannot do very much for our country to-day.