they are most willing to do so—­not only zealous, but able to provide accommodation for the moment in the public buildings which are under their charge.  I think a great deal of the congestion which has taken place could have been avoided if more liberal use had been made, and could be made—­I am not reproaching any one:  the circumstances were exceptional and the pressure very great on our public buildings, our town halls, schools, and the other edifices which are under the control of municipal and county authorities for the purpose, at any rate at the moment, of relieving the great pressure of recruiting, and I am quite sure that appeal will not go unheeded.  But we recognize fully, and no one more fully than my noble friend Lord Kitchener, the necessity of facilitating this process and rendering it more easy.  We do not think the time has come in which we ought in any way to relax our recruiting efforts, [cheers,] and when people tell me, as they do every day, “These recruits are coming in in their tens of thousands; you are being blocked by them and you cannot provide adequately either for their equipment or for their training,” my answer is, “We shall want more rather than less, and let us get the men,” [Cheers.] That is the first necessity of the State—­let us get the men.  Knowing as we all do the patriotic spirit which now, as always—­now, of course, with increased emphasis and enthusiasm—­animates every class of the community, I am perfectly certain they will be ready to endure hardship and discomforts for the moment if they are satisfied that their services are really required by the State, and that in due course of time they will be supplied with adequate provision for training and equipment and for rendering themselves fit for taking their places in the field.

Two Important Steps.

With that object a few days ago—­and the process is now in complete operation—­a very important step was taken which I am sure will be generally welcomed by the committee and by the country—­whenever it is necessary to allow men who are recruited and have gone through the process of attestation, medical examination, and actual enrollment, so that they are not only potential but actual members of the regular army—­to allow these men to go back to their own homes until the occasion arises for them to be called upon for actual training.  In that way we hope to relieve—­indeed relief has already been given and will be given more amply in the near future—­the undoubted block and congestion which have taken place in certain districts to the natural disappointment of the men who have come forward under an impulse of public duty to serve their country and, finding themselves sent back home and put for the time being in the reserve, have felt perhaps that their services were not duly appreciated by the country.  That, I think, the committee will agree is a very important step in advance.  I have to announce another step which I believe will give universal satisfaction and will go a long way