left his palace, and the man earning his daily bread had quitted his humble cottage.  There were men there of diverse and varied faiths who worshipped at different shrines—­men who were in array against each other months ago in bitter conflict, and I saw them march with one step under one flag to fight for the same cause, and I saw them worship the same God.  What has brought them together?  The love of their native land, resentment for a cruel wrong inflicted upon the weak and defenseless.  More than that, what brought them together was that instinct which comes to humanity at critical times when the moment has arrived to cross rivers of blood in order to rescue humanity from the grip of some strangling despotism. [Cheers.] They have done nobly.  That is what has brought them together, but we want more, [cheers,] and I have no doubt we will get more.

If this country had produced an army which was equal in proportion to its population to the number of men under arms in France and in Germany at the present moment there would be three millions and a half in this country and 1,200,000 in the Colonies. [Cheers.] That is what I mean when I say our resources are quite adequate to the task.  It is not our fight merely—­it is the fight of humanity. [Cheers.] The allied countries between them could raise armies of over twenty millions of men.  Our enemies can put in the field barely half that number.

Much as I should like to talk about the need for more men, that is not the point of my special appeal today.  We stand more in need of equipment than we do of men.  This is an engineers’ war, [cheers,] and it will be won or lost owing to the efforts or shortcomings of engineers.  I have something to say about that, for it involves sacrifices for all of us.  Unless we are able to equip our armies our predominance in men will avail us nothing.  We need men, but we need arms more than men, and delay in producing them is full of peril for this country.  You may say that I am saying things that ought to be kept from the enemy.  I am not a believer in giving any information which is useful to him.  You may depend on it he knows, but I do not believe in withholding from our own public information which they ought to possess, because unless you tell them you cannot invite their co-operation.  The nation that cannot bear the truth is not fit for war, and may our young men be volunteers, while the unflinching pride of those they have left behind them in their deed of sacrifice ought to satisfy the most apprehensive that we are not a timid race, who cannot face unpleasant facts!  The last thing in the world John Bull wants is to be mollycoddled.  The people must be told exactly what the position is, and then we can ask them to help.  We must appeal for the co-operation of employers, workmen, and the general public; the three must act and endure together, or we delay and maybe imperil victory.  We ought to requisition the aid of every man who can handle metal.  It means that the needs of the community in many respects will suffer acutely vexatious, and perhaps injurious, delay; but I feel sure that the public are prepared to put up with all this discomfort, loss, and privation if thereby their country marches triumphantly out of this great struggle. [Cheers.] We have every reason for confidence; we have none for complacency.  Hope is the mainspring of efficiency; complacency is its rust.