They could not, under such a circumstance, forbear to exercise that general superintendance over all the great concerns of the state, which was constitutionally vested in them; particularly with reference to an important Crisis in the History of the country, induced by the improvident advice of those whom his majesty had called to his councils; of those who had hitherto given no probable ground of hope that the affairs of the country would be brought to a favourable or happy issue.

But I think the committee will feel with me, that with the prospects that are before us in the present Crisis of the History of the world, when the elements of discord are abroad, in the conspicuous station which we fill in Europe, with the eyes of all its nations fixed on us, that still preserve and value their independence, or that look to us as the means of regaining the independence they have lost, his majesty's ministers would not be justified were they to content themselves with presenting to parliament a limited and narrow statement of our circumstances and our views.

He thought the present was a most important Crisis in the History of the coun- 1200 try, and if hon. Gentlemen were desirous of preventing an absolute check to our prosperity, it was their duty to inquire whether, by any alteration in our present policy, a larger field might be afforded for the exercise of the energies of our countrymen.

If what the noble and learned Lord had stated must be received as correct, he feared they must prepare for a Crisis in the History of the Church in this country.

that they were approaching to a Crisis in Their History when it behoved the Church to mark well for towers, and set up her bulwarks; and his hon. and learned Friend added, that he proposed to strengthen the Church 1352 by substituting his own effective masonry for the rubbish of their Bill.

and it was obvious that the absence of the Speaker from illness or any other cause, without there being any person to supply his place, might occur at a Crisis of Our History when it might be of vital importance to the constitution of the country that the House should be sitting.

He believed that they had now arrived at a Crisis in the History of art in this country.

We cannot conceal from ourselves that the country is in danger, and that we are in a most momentous Crisis of Our History.

But now they were going to make great retribution for the past, and great and costly provision for the future—to meet in fact a great Crisis in the History of the metropolis.

The great majority of such men held the occurrence of such a Crisis in Our History to be not only not improbable, but as being in accordance with present appearances inevitable.

It is the Powers hostile to Italy who, in the mysterious counsels of Providence, have been the means of compelling the people, now in this Crisis of Their History, to forget those local feelings with which 1579 they were strongly imbued.

He agreed with his noble Friend that this was a most important Crisis in the History of the Turkish empire and of its relations with foreign Powers.

But he regarded the present moment as a Crisis in the History of the country, believing that we were in immediate danger of having one of our great Colonies separated from us unless justice was done.

We found ourselves at a great Crisis of Our History in a somewhat defenceless position.

Every morning the country was told that this was a momentous Crisis in the History of the Eastern Question.

but it was to the Press he was looking when he made that speech; and it was from the Press that he had gathered the charges he answered, and not from the speech of the noble Earl (Earl Granville), which had been delivered, in fact, for the purpose of affording the Government an opportunity of making those statements upon great questions of public policy which your Lordships have a right to expect when we are called together at a great Crisis in the History of Europe.

I remember that in a most important Crisis in the History of this unfortunate affair, we heard intelligence of a nature that horrified Europe and produced a feeling of distress amongst hon. Members.

As to the recent accession of the hon. Member for Tralee (the O'Donoghue), whom the hon. Member had taunted with inconsistency, that hon. Gentleman had recognized a great Crisis in the History of his country.

The conquest of the Caucasus in 1862 was one great Crisis in the History of Russia in Asia.

Though the noble Lord has very fairly and rightly limited his own responsibility, nobody can mix him up with the transactions which have recently taken place; and the very fact that they came upon him with such suddenness, and were such a surprise, shows what a sharp turn in the policy of the Government must have taken place at that precise Crisis in Their History.

We must recollect that the proceedings in connection with the War in Egypt were taken by Her Majesty's Government at a very peculiar Crisis in Their History.

At a moment of singular Crisis in the History of Egypt we are asked to release one who may have affected my noble Friend by his parting words and vivid conversation, but who, at the same time, has been an agent of infinite cruelty and infinite destruction among the wild tribes of the Soudan.

It was this Body which, in answer to the invitation which the Prime Minister had issued to all parties in Ireland to express their views upon the subject of Home Rule, and at the request of numerous members of the Church, was convened by the Archbishop of Dublin in order to take counsel together in this grave Crisis in the History of the country, especially having regard to its effect on the Church of Ireland.

I think we have some reason to be surprised and disappointed that in what the hon. Gentleman who has just sat down described, and most truly, as a grave Crisis in the History of the country, Her Majesty's Government should come to us with an Address in which the only reference to Ireland is confined to a single sentence recommending reform of criminal procedure.

If ever there was a Crisis in the History of the world it was that of the Mutiny.

I wish, however, to refer to the speech of the Chief Secretary last night—a speech made at a great Crisis in the History of the nation he has to govern.

Again, the Committee of the London Diocesan Board of Education—a very competent Body, and who, I am sure, gave a conscientious opinion —in April, 1893, reported as follows:— "That Church schools are passing through a serious Crisis in Their History cannot be doubted; but it is extremely encouraging to note that school managers are everywhere putting forth all their energies to meet the increased but reasonable requirements of the Education Department in regard to the sanitation of school buildings, the provision of cloak-room and classroom accommodation, and the more efficient equipment of schools as to staff and teaching appliances".

] Through the great qualities which you have displayed that Crisis in Our History has been safely passed, and I trust that no similar crisis is ever likely to arise, for it has been given to you, Sir, to show in the Chair that kind of authority which no rules 1303 and no privileges can give, which cannot be conferred even by the support of the House, but which must be inborn in the man who exercises it—[cheers]—and which shows the kind of genius appropriate to the great place which you fill.

It was now recognised that owing to the imposition of these duties, that part of the country had been passing through the gravest Crisis in the History of her trade since the great cotton famine, and, that the masters and men had borne this infliction with that great heroism which had characterised them at the time of their still greater distress.

The present time was really a Crisis in the History of the water companies, and the House was being invited to give the companies another lease of life to the detriment of the London public.

A month before Waterloo, at the zenith of his fame and a Crisis of Our History, the Duke of Wellington asked the authorities for 40,000 British Infantry.

The contrast between the energy of the Russians, French, and Germans, awl their clear conception of what they want, with the supineness, irresolution, and total lack of a clear and consistent policy which has marked the dealings of our Government with a great Crisis in the History of China, and of British interests in that country, is most humiliating.

In this case the military expert on the spot was Lord Roberts, who has been trusted, not in vain, in the greatest Crisis of Our History, with the largest army we have ever sent beyond the seas.

Sir, the faction which is drawing 1311 the right hon. Gentleman on is the faction which has always done wrong at every Crisis in the History of Ireland.

000 miles away from the Indian frontier at the very Crisis in Our History that furnished the only possibility of success for Russia if she had any such intention.

They felt that this was a great Crisis in the History of the nation, and they were determined to fight all they could on this question, and to make sacrifices as regarded Party in order that the battle might be successfully won.

We have, in my opinion, come to a very serious Crisis in the History of the relations of our railway companies with the Board of Trade.

Basing my conclusions upon that knowledge alone, I believe we are face to face with a great Crisis in Our History, and I should have hoped, and I think most 1487 people would have expected, that these two Debates on Navy questions would have been very different from what they actually have been.

Speaking at Oswestry on 15th November, 1910, the Bishop said:— "I am wholly unable to agree with those who think that this is not a supreme Crisis in the History of the Church of Wales.

And we are told the main issue presented at this great Crisis in Our History to the electors of that 2006 borough was whether or not the persons, engaged, I think, in the shirt-collar industry, had or had not been injuriously affected by the Insurance Act.

I will read it because I want the House, if they will, at this grave and deplorable Crisis in Our History, to do me the honour of really trying to believe that I am not masquerading in this House, but that I am trying faithfully to represent the interests of those who are affected by this great controversy.

Everyone must be anxious, and no one is more anxious than I am that, as far as possible, men should not be disfranchised, should not be disqualified from voting because, in this supreme Crisis of Our History, they have responded to the call of the country, whatever form that call may have taken.

Such speeches encourage every eccentric thinker in this and any of the Allied countries, and I deplore the fact that two hon. Members of this House, men of capacity as we all know, should be willing to stand up at this Crisis of Our History and give utterance to views which can do nothing but depress those most interested in the well-being of our country, namely, our soldiers and sailors.

Could anything be better from the Nationalist point of view than to join in hearty co-operation, as the family of the late Leader of the Nationalist party have done and as many Nationalist families have done all through Ireland, in bringing the people along with them in order that there should be no division at this great Crisis in the History of our country?

We are now in the great Crisis of Our History, and all delay is of danger.

It is a consolation, but not more than a consolation, to the House and the country to know that, at any rate, that calamity has been averted, and that in some capacity—I hope, as I said at the beginning, a capacity adequate to his abilities, his experience, and, above all, his unrivalled authority in the great Service he has done so much to build up at the War Office—we may still count on General Trenchard as an effective fighting factor in this terrible Crisis of Our History.

I suggest that at this Crisis in Our History, that at this time of complexity and of difficulty as to the future, we should not proceed to this new scheme.

We were facing the greatest Crisis in Our History, and we had to create and equip and transport an enormous Army across the seas under the threat of overwhelming disaster.

We have just passed through the greatest Crisis in Our History, and we have survived a great number of perils during every stage of the War, and now we have the old stunt hunters saying they must have a thoroughgoing Act, under the operation of which it will be impossible for any alien to creep into this country even in any disguised form.

It is very difficult to discuss a question of that kind on the Floor of the House of Commons, because we are all grateful for the magnificent assistance which that great Dominion gave to us in the greatest Crisis of Our History.

In the Crisis of Our History, with which we are faced to-day, can it be alleged by any serious-minded person that this is the first thing we want to attack to get the wheels of industry going?

I have spoken longer than 1 intended, but I have spokes because I really feel that this is a great Crisis in Our History.

There is no doubt that we are at a Crisis in the History of British industry and trade, and a very serious crisis.

At times of Crisis in the History of mankind, men do not hesitate to do that which they think right regardless of the consequences.

There can be no doubt to the attentive mind that we are rapidly approaching a Crisis in the History of the savings' bank movement, a crisis in which these invaluable institutions will need the most careful guidance for their preservation in the service of the country.

Sir P. FORD: We have listened to a very humourous speech delivered in a very friendly manner, but I regard the Crisis in the History of the country as too serious to be looked at in that kind of buffoonery.

We are drifting into the worst financial Crisis in the History of Europe simply because the Government have not the courage to face up to the situation.

Would it not be more dignified for the British House of Commons, in the midst of the greatest Crisis in History, to adjourn, if necessary, for half-an-hour?

At this moment of uncertainty, when, who knows, we may even be approaching another Crisis in the History of this Empire, surely it is desirable, surely it is wise, surely it is statesmanlike, for all parties to show a united front in the simple, straightforward determination that the personnel of our Army shall be more adequately equipped and shall become more efficient and consequently better able to defend themselves and the country against any possible aggression.

And I hope that my hon. and gallant Friend will realise that at a time of Crisis in the History of this country, when every machine is wanted, they are doing a great disservice by making speeches which would split up our Air Force in time of war.

The worst Crisis in the History of the Army from the point of view of recruiting occurred after the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny.

They have reached the greatest Crisis in Their History, and that crisis will be evident probably, I think, during the war, but certainly after the war.

It would he a gross misuse of man-power and a waste of time and material to indulge in this vast scheme when we are perhaps within a few months of the Crisis of Our History.

I think it is a very remarkable thing that at this great Crisis in Our History, when it may well be that the whole future of human civilisation will be altered for better or for worse as a result of the struggle through which we are now going, the Minister and the Government and, I hope, the people and Parliament, too, should be earnestly concerned to have regard for the sincere conscientious objections of individual citizens, and that they should take steps to protect the rights of conscience even when it is believed that that conscience is mistakenly informed.

There is a great body of liberal thought which is based on constructive work for its country within the Commonwealth and I ask my right hon. Friend, even at this stage, not to abandon hope of harnessing that to the official machinery at this Crisis in the History of the war.

] Well, they just go with the wall paper, and we are asked in this Crisis of Our History to try and conduct our affairs with people who - almost every Member of the House agrees - are not fit to be in the War Cabinet.

Such incidents as those mentioned by the hon. Member for Llanelly (Mr. J. Griffiths) in his opening speech, dog racing and boxing displays among them, are completely out of accord with the true spirit of determination of the people in this Crisis in Their History, and steps will be taken to see that such and similar activities are no longer allowed to offend the solid and serious intention of this country to achieve victory.

It is true that when the last Vote of Censure or a Motion in the nature of a Vote of Censure at a great Crisis in the History of the country was moved, after Norway, there was one advantage to be gained from it and from the resignation of the Government.

] I ask myself, and everybody in this House has to ask himself, what greater measure of national unity at this Crisis in Our History would be secured if that Vote were carried, or if it were not carried, and a substantial number voted against it, or if a substantial number of Members abstained.

I, personally, at moments of Crisis in Our History would far rather be known as a supporter of the Government in power than one of a band which tries to oust them.

May I ask the Leader of the House whether, in view of his own statement made on 20th May - now over two months ago - that the Government were making a carefully-planned attack on the Continent of Europe, it is not treating the House with a certain degree of contempt at this Crisis of Our History, that no statement is to be made to us on the war situation before we adjourn for the period proposed?

It is realised by the Army - and I am sure this is true of the other Services as well - that in the present Crisis in the History of this Nation and Empire competition in sacrifice and endeavour is much more fitting than that of envy and reward.

We are very glad that these privileges should be given to those who gallantly risked everything in a Crisis in the History of their country to come over and help us; but it has been pointed out that, if those Frenchmen are worthy of those privileges, surely the large number of Czechs, Poles and others, many of whom have been living in this country for years and have been serving in the British Army from the very beginning of the war, must be entitled to the same privileges.

Much as I would like everybody to have ten cigarettes a day or six pipes a day, to ask them to have only nine cigarettes or five pipes is a very small thing, having regard to the fact that we are at a Crisis in Our History.

I warn the Government that, over this housing problem, there are going to be crucial Debates in this House, and that will be the most serious domestic 2376 Crisis in the History of this country unless the Government take steps now to grapple with it on a bold scale.

If, at a great Crisis in History, when feelings were engaged on a depth and scale without parallel in the social life of this country for decades, no single civil servant left work, but carried on, can there ever be a greater test imposed on a body of men than that was?

I would remind the House that we have come through the greatest Crisis in Our History, that the damage done has been tremendous, but that the opportunity offered is also tremendous, and that the speed with which we construct - I do not suggest that it should be blind speed - will determine the health and happiness of our people for many years to come.

Throughout this Debate the speeches have taken a course which would seem to imply that we are living in normal times instead of being face to face with the biggest Crisis in History.

I do not think that the right hon. Gentleman the Financial Secretary to the Treasury can bring forward one single argument to show that we in this country, who are now, perhaps, approaching the supreme economic Crisis of Our History, are in a position to embark upon a policy which is designed to lead us back to free convertibility and free multilateral trade, and I challenge any hon. Member on either side of the House to refute that statement.

The electors are going to vote on their mismanagement and on their partisanship in this grave Crisis in Our History.

It is obvious that the late Chancellor of the Exchequer was deterred by political considerations from making a frontal attack to overcome the greatest and gravest Crisis in the History of this country.

Having arrived here together at this great Crisis in the History of the world, all of us have one clear duty and that is to keep Great Britain great.

We have come to a Crisis in the History of Europe, which may beas significant as the fall of Rome or the Renaissance; whether it resembles the one or the other is largely in the hands of hon. Gentlemen opposite.

Here we are, in the supreme economic Crisis of Our Whole History, watching each other like cat and mouse.

I want the Leader of the Opposition to remember that the friends who sit behind him - and Munich has been mentioned here today - are the people who would have destroyed him politically, and that he owes his position in history to the fact that the Labour Party demanded that he should take the lead in the Crisis of Our History.

I have cast my vote here in, perhaps, the greatest Crisis in Our History, the result of which was to eject the Administration; and, although the hon. Member probably may not like it, the House cannot evade the responsibility of voting on an issue which might result in the resignation of the Government.

This is why this Government inherited both inadequate Defence forces and the most serious economic Crisis in Our History.

There is a Crisis in the History of the language.

First, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer stressed in his Budget speech last week, we, along with many other nations, face the most serious peace-time economic Crisis in Our History.

It would be the most damaging Crisis in the History of Britain's relations with Africa and the Commonwealth.

The circular letter of 1 July 1981 from the UGC meant savage cuts in higher education, which plunged many universities into the most serious Crisis in Their History.

Yesterday's Financial Times described that event as giving rise to the gravest Crisis in the History of OPEC.

That will happen when industry is passing through the greatest Crisis in History, creating mass unemployment.

The Secretary of State must bear responsibility for that situation, which is the gravest Crisis in the History of Scottish education.

Faced with the deepest Crisis in the History of the Israeli state and with the Intifada approaching its annivarsary and showing no sign of fading away and still less sign of being suppressed, however brutal the methods used against it, Israel is in danger of throwing away the greatest chance that it has ever had for a negotiated peace.

That will enable us to prevent drought from creating famine and disaster from becoming an unparalleled Crisis in the History of the continent.

I do not complain about that, but they cannot say, "We have the worst financial Crisis in History," and, "We are wholly underfunded by the Government," and at the same time go around the continent looking at roses.

We face the most miserable humanitarian and refugee Crisis in History.

What, in the Minister's mind, led to the A-level fiasco, which my honourable friend in another place, Damian Green, described as the worst Crisis in the History of public examinations in this country?

This summer's A-level fiasco was the worst Crisis in the History of public exams in this country.

Everyone recognises that we need to do that, and that in 2008, prior to the onset of the biggest global economic Crisis in History, we had a lower deficit as a ratio of GDP than in 1997 when we came into power.

The Governor of the Bank of England said that we were in the middle of the worst Crisis in the History of the international economy, but when I listened to today's statement, the Chancellor seemed to come across as extremely timid about this country's role in meeting that challenge.

Mervyn King may well be right - this might be the worst Crisis in Our History - but, sadly, the Tories are using exactly the same old methods to get out of it.

Statistics show that this is the slowest recovery from a financial Crisis in History.

To sum up, the UK is dealing with the consequences of the most severe economic Crisis in Our Recent History.

” It is welcome news that in the coalition's fourth Budget, following the biggest financial Crisis in Our History, the deficit has been reduced by one third, employment is at record levels and private sector jobs are finally replacing those in the public sector by a ratio of 6:1.

As noble Lords are aware, when this Government took office in 2010, they faced the worst economic Crisis in Recent History.

I want to ask those Conservative Members, and some on the Opposition Benches, who are determined to argue against the concept of ever closer union: are we really saying that we want to drive the peoples of Europe further apart at a time when we are facing the greatest humanitarian Crisis in Our History, which nobody believes can be addressed by individual nations acting on their own?

The Government are presiding over the worst A&E figures since records began, the biggest financial Crisis in the History of the NHS - three quarters of trusts are now in deficit - and a crisis in morale across the workforce, with a Secretary of State too belligerent to listen.