83 quotes found
"The army causes taxes, the taxes cause discontents, & the discontents are alleged to make an army necessary. Thus you go in a circle."
"No other troops in the world but German paratroops could have stood up to such an ordeal and then gone on fighting with such ferocity."
"I returned last week...from visiting the Italian front. I was up with the Eighth Army, that Army which will always seem to me to epitomize the unity of our Commonwealth and Empire. I saw there in Italy Canadians, South Africans, and New Zealanders. I recalled talking with General Alexander the great deeds of the Australians. As I saw our lads from all our countries so fine and gallant, I was thrilled with pride."
"I wish to acknowledge the many courtesies extended to me on this visit by the Governor General, Viscount Alexander, who paid me the honor of a visit in Washington a few months ago. His career as a soldier and as a statesman eminently qualifies him to follow his illustrious predecessors."
""Churchill was 'very keen, able, and broad-minded' and a 'powerful backer', but warned that his weakness was being 'too apt to make up his mind without sufficient knowledge'."
"British influence... is not exercised to impose an uncongenial foreign system upon a reluctant people. It is a force making for the triumph of the simplest ideas of honesty, humanity, and justice, to the value of which Egyptians are just as much alive as anybody else."
"[I]f Egyptian prosperity is a British interest, so is Egyptian independence. We have no desire to possess ourselves of Egypt, but we have every reason to prevent any rival power from so possessing itself. And there is no sure, no creditable manner of providing permanently against such a contingency, except to build up a system of Government so stable as to leave no excuse for future foreign intervention."
"I have a strong hope and conviction that, with moderation and good sense, and a policy of firmness, patience and good temper, these difficulties may yet be satisfactorily, if not immediately settled."
"There is only one possible settlement – war! It has got to come ... The difficulty is in the occasion and not the job itself, that is very easily done and I think nothing of the bogies and difficulties of settling South Africa afterwards. You will find a very different tone and temper when the center of unrest is dealt with."
"If, ten years hence, there are three men of British race to two of Dutch, the country [i.e. South Africa] will be safe and prosperous."
"...the impracticability of governing natives, who, at best, are children, needing and appreciating just paternal government, on the same principles as apply to the government of full-grown men."
"If we believe a thing to be bad, and if we have a right to prevent it, it is our duty to try to prevent it and to damn the consequences."
"I feel more sure that the end is nearing than I do what kind of end it will be."
"My own disposition is against being in the government unless I am part of the Supreme Direction."
"The prospects for peace were, "even blacker than a year ago"."
"Instead of it (World War I) being a war to end wars - it (the Paris Peace Conference) is a Peace to end Peace."
"Only at Government House did I find the Man of No Illusions, the anxious but unwearied Pro-Consul, understanding the faults and virtues of both sides, measuring the balance of rights and wrongs, and determined - more determined than ever, for is it not the only hope for the future of South Africa? - to use his knowledge and power to strengthen the Imperial ties."
"The conditions of the Transvaal ordinance ... cannot in the opinion of His Majesty's Government be classified as slavery; at least, that word in its full sense could not be applied without a risk of terminological inexactitude."
"Lord Milner has gone from South Africa, probably forever. The public service knows him no more. Having exercised great authority he now exercises no authority. Having held high employment he now has no employment. Having disposed of events which have shaped the course of history, he is now unable to deflect in the smallest degree the policy of the day. Having been for many years, or at least for many months, the arbiter of the fortunes of men who are 'rich beyond the dreams of avarice', he is today poor, and honorably poor. After twenty years of exhausting service under the Crown he is today a retired Civil Servant, without pension or gratuity of any kind whatever... Lord Milner has ceased to be a factor in public life."
"He is an old friend of mine. We admired and loved the same woman. That's an indissoluble bond."
"If he does not agree with you, he closes his eyes like a lizard and you can do nothing with him."
"We should have won the war some time ago if there were about half-a-dozen Lord Milners to form a (War) Cabinet."
"How far reaching that service became at the turning point of the war, what a godsend that combination of cool judgement and knowledge with the Premier's flair and courage, how essential to victory the power of decision which at the blackest moment consolidated the direction of the allied armies...but when the story comes to be fully written, it may be found that nothing even in the South African chapter has left a more decisive mark on history than Lord Milner's work at Doullens and in Downing Street..."
"“What would have been the position to-day on South Africa if there had not been a man prepared to take upon himself responsibility; a man whom difficulties could not conquer, whom dissenters could not cow, and whom obloquy could not move?”"
"Milner....is the strongest member of the War Cabinet as well as being the best informed."
"Lloyd George had the firm support of Milner, the strongest man in his War Cabinet."
"The interview adjourned at an appointed hour to the office of the Secretary of War, Lord Milner, whose little book on "The English in Egypt" written twenty-six years ago, was a bible to me in Philippine days. He was an extremely forceful and able man. He was born in Germany of British parents and seems to have acquired a little of the blood and iron. At least he is the most difficult person to bring over that my General (Pershing) and I have attempted. It is all on the question of how many troops shall go with the British and what they shall be. He wants all infantry and machine guns, and while protesting that they all look forward to the day when we shall have our American Army on the line as such, is demanding the things that will make that impossible, at least before 1919."
"In appearance a scholar rather than a man of action, but with an air of grave assurance, which indicated fixity of purpose, a man more apt to give than to take advice."
"I think that Milner and I stand for very much the same things. He is a poor man, and so am I. He does not represent the landed or capitalist classes any more than I do. He is keen on social reform, and so am I."
"Milner was the only person I can turn to for advice. Bonar was a quaking reed. Carson had courage, but not always judgement. Milner alone had both wisdom and intrepidity."
"...trained in the school of newspapers and books rather than that of men. ...poor nervous ignorant fellow, utterly out of sympathy with South Africa."
"Having to deal with the War Cabinet, I know very well there are only two people in it who do anything - the Prime Minister and Lord Milner..."
"l'homme d'action par excellence du cabinet anglais (the outstanding man of drive in the British cabinet)."
"When Lord Milner was given the Order of the Garter... [h]e had to attend a Levee, and when he dressed he was faced by the problem over which shoulder should the riband go. As there was no time to ask anyone's advice he decided to wear it...over the right shoulder; but the Garter...[is] worn over the left shoulder. Quite unconscious that he was wearing his riband over the wrong shoulder he appeared in the antechamber at St. James's Palace, where everyone assembles. There, unfortunately, he met George Curzon, who was scandalised at his ignorance; so strongly, in fact, did Curzon feel that after the Levee he wrote Milner a letter saying that it was almost inconceivable that anyone who had been given this ancient Order, the highest Order in the land, should not even take the trouble to ascertain how it was worn. It happened some months later that one of the Levees at St. James's Palace happened to come on a collar day... Curzon...came rather late to the Levee...and...committ[ed] the most heinous offence of wearing a riband as well as a collar. Of course, the King observed this at once but made little of it, only chaffing Curzon about the mistake; Milner, who was also present, heard these remarks and afterwards wrote to Curzon, repeating nearly word for word that it was almost inconceivable that anyone who had been given this ancient Order, etc. etc."
"Lloyd George is a real bad 'un. The other members of the War Cabinet seem afraid of him. Milner is a tired, dyspeptic old man. Curzon is a gas-bag. Bonar Law equals Bonar Law."
"...Cette decision sauva la France et la liberte du monde. Translated from French to English: ...This decision saved France and the freedom of the world."
"The complete inscription, in english, says, "In this Town Hall, on the 26th of March, 1918, the Allies entrusted General Foch with the Supreme Command on the Western Front. This decision saved France and the liberty of the world.""
"[Williamson speaking to The Telegraph.] Everyone is obsessed with Palmerston and Larry the cat, but in the Whip’s office we have a proper pet. I’ve had Cronus since he was a spider-ling, so I have a very paternal sort of approach. It’s very much the same sort of love and care that I give to my spider as I give to all MPs."
"It’s often described as a cool war that we are entering – I would say it is feeling exceptionally chilly at the moment."
"We are always influenced by the work that we do. Having worked in manufacturing you are always inspired by it, whether it’s the design that goes into products, the production, the science, the technology."
"Every parent wants to know their child is getting a great education and I will leave no stone unturned in my drive to deliver that."
"All children should be in school and not out protesting and anyone who says otherwise is being very irresponsible."
"They school strikers] should be learning, they shouldn't be bunking off and it's very irresponsible for people to encourage children to do so."
"Could be juvenile, he could be ridiculous, he could be horrid and at times he wore his ambitions too brazenly and revelled too much in the dark arts and his reputation for skulduggery. Despite the pithy name-calling, brutal caricatures and wild accusations levelled against him, there is a good person under Gavin’s Machiavellian facade. But if you live by the sword, you die by the sword. And he appreciates that more than most."
"I am delighted that a new secretary of state for education was not just educated within the state system but attended a comprehensive school."
"Natural justice demands that the evidence be produced so his reputation can be salvaged - or utterly destroyed!"
"The Germans haven't seen our proposal yet, and we haven't seen our proposal yet. That is still being worked on at the moment to see what we can do to prevent whole towns and communities being swamped by huge numbers of migrant workers. In some areas, particularly on the east coast, towns do feel under siege from large numbers of migrant workers and people claiming benefits. It is quite right that we look at that."
"We're all Eurosceptics now. I don't see any Euro-fanatics around the Cabinet table."
"At the moment our defence and security rests on Nato, not on the EU, but the EU adds to that security...The EU can do things that Nato cannot. It is through the EU that you exchange criminal records and passenger records and work together on counter-terrorism...We need the collective weight of the EU when you are dealing with Russian aggression or terrorism. You need to be part of these big partnerships."
"[It is up to the British people to decide whether] we are safer and stronger inside the EU or take what is a big gamble and leave to what is a rather uncertain future."
"Questions were asked about the platforms he [Sadiq Khan] shared with various extremists, and those questions were asked by not just by us but the media too. Even on your own programme."
"Your own Andrew Neil on a BBC programme said of his appearance with Suliman Gani, a supporter of Daesh Islamic State, that he appeared with him on a platform nine times. And Sadiq Khan said he regretted giving the impression he supported the views of terrorists. Those questions were put to him and he answered them."
"Our security rests on Nato. No one seriously disputes that. Britain will never be part of an EU army."
"We have a veto on all EU defence matters and we would oppose any move to create one. In fact, I don't know any European defence minister who wants a European army."
"But we're going to continue to oppose any idea of an EU army, or an EU army headquarters which would simply undermine Nato. Nato must remain the cornerstone of our defence and the defence of Europe."
"We agree that Europe needs to do more, it's facing terrorism, it's facing migration, but simply duplicating or undermining Nato is the wrong way to do it."
"What I can absolutely rule out is that we will not be asking companies to list or publish or name or identify in any way the number of foreign workers they have. We're going to consult with business, and the consultation document hasn't even been published yet, on how we can do more encourage companies - to incentivise them - to look first at the British labour market. And to offer these jobs to British people, which is what the British people would expect, before they import labour more cheaply from abroad... That would mean, for example, asking companies just simply to report their numbers, which we wouldn't publish, we wouldn't identify anybody.""
"I can assure the House that the capability and effectiveness of the United Kingdom's independent nuclear deterrent is not in doubt. The government has absolute confidence in our deterrent and in the Royal Navy."
"We do not give operational details of the demonstration and shake-down operation of one of our submarines conducting a test with one of our Trident missiles"
"[Gibraltar residents] made it very clear they do not want to live under Spanish rule"
"I think everybody wants to see an agreement in the end that does respect what the British people voted for last year - makes sure that our cooperation with Europe continues, our trade with Europe continues, our security cooperation with Europe continues."
"The public voted to leave the European Union. That means freedom of movement has to end."
"Equally we have to make sure that British companies are also prepared to train up British workers. The public are very clear, they want to see immigration not stopped but brought properly under control."
"In recent days allegations have been made about MPs’ conduct, including my own. Many of these have been false but I realise that in the past I have fallen below the high standards that we require of the armed forces which I have the privilege to represent. I have therefore reflected on my position in government and I am resigning as defence secretary."
"This is not a good deal and we need a better deal"
"My fear is that this deal gives us the worst of all worlds."
"All those involved should be investigated now to find out who this leaker is. Ministers are subject to the Official Secrets Act just like anybody else. It is an offence to divulge secret information from the most secret of all government bodies, which is the National Security Council. It has got to be stopped."
"The talks are clearly not going anywhere. If they are going to include permanent membership of a customs union then frankly we would be better off staying in the EU then we would have a voice in the trade arrangements that are being negotiated. We can't say we are leaving the EU then half stay in it."
"[No deal is the] ultimate fall back [and needs to be prepared for] so that our partners are convinced that this is a deadly serious negotiation"
"We need some alternative arrangements for Northern Ireland - some of that technology is already in place - we need the right to exit the backstop if the negotiations fail, we need some improvements to the political declaration. These aren't the biggest things, but what they do require is some optimism and ambition and above all some energy. We will have a fresh team, a fresh prime minister and there is no reason at all why this can't be done in the next three months."
"[Sacking rebels] sends the wrong message to Remainers"
"[It is] very important that we take those who voted Remain - and nearly half the country voted Remain - we do try and take them with us."
"They were not now in the situation of arguing, for the first time, whether they should act on the principle of restriction or not. For not only on the subject of corn, but on all great branches of trade in this country, they had, from time immemorial, proceeded on a system of restriction. And therefore, he contended, they were not now placed in a situation of discussing first principles. They were not now, for the first time, to inquire, whether they were to act on this principle or not. The system had been acted on for a long period, and we could not depart from it without encountering a frightful revulsion, which it would be dreadful to combat. It was not, therefore, a question between restriction and non-restriction—but how they were to apply principles, that had been long called into action, to the existing circumstances of the country. This was the only ground on which he would now recommend the measure he was about to submit to their consideration."
"He had always given it as his opinion, that the restrictive system of commerce in this country was founded in error, and calculated to defeat the object for which it was adopted."
"We certainly do not want a Catholic Association to assist us. If they attempt to excite our fears, they will fail; for they will enlist our pride, at least as strong as any other feeling, against them. We shall betray our duty; we shall do mischief to Ireland; we shall render her incapable of enjoying the benefits which she has lately acquired, or which she may hereafter acquire, unless we make up our minds steadily and firmly to put an end to this Association, which I sincerely believe to be the bane and curse of the country."
"The King has behaved admirably, and has shown his sincere desire to keep Canning's Government together upon the principles upon which it was formed. It is our duty to do our part to preserve it as long as we can, and to do all in our power not to disappoint his Majesty's expectations, or to thwart his genuine objects. We must forget all that is unpleasant in what has occurred, and act cordially and frankly together. If we do, and start well, depend upon it the country will support the King in his resolution to support us, particularly if we exert ourselves bonâ fide to get rid of, or at least to nullify, the odious distinctions of Whig and Tory, and to get the press, if possible, to support the Government, not so much on account of its individual composition, but because it is the King's Government and founded upon just and honourable principles."
"He had made a sacrifice of many preconceived opinions, of many early predilections, and of many long-cherished notions."
"When I introduced, in 1815, the Corn Bill of that day, I did it...with the greatest reluctance. I was not a Member of the Government; that is to say, I only held a subordinate situation in it—and when the Earl of Liverpool sent to desire that I would move the measure, I took the liberty of expressing to him that I had a great objection to the principle of any Corn Law whatever. I thought then—I have thought ever since—that a Corn Law is in itself an evil to be justified solely by the establishment of some paramount necessity, sufficient to overcome the magnitude of the objection, and to sanction the imposition on the country of what is in itself an evil."
"Indeed, it would have been impossible for me to have supported a Corn Law as a part of a great system of national policy intended to give uniform and universal protection to native industry, because over and over again I have laid down the opposite principle with reference to protection; and I have shared year after year in measures and arguments, the object of which was to break in the principle of what is called protection to British industry, and to get rid, as speedily as circumstances would permit, first of prohibition, and then of protection, which I have always held to be injurious not only to the country generally, but ultimately to the very interests which it is designed to serve."
"The only ground on which I reconciled myself to the fitness of a Corn Law at all was my apprehension—an apprehension which I most sincerely entertained—that this country would become, or might become, more dependent than in prudence she ought to be upon supplies of corn from foreign countries."
"Mr. Robinson sat down amid demonstrations of applause more loud and more general than perhaps ever before greeted the opening of a ministerial statement of finance."
"If adverse critics charged him with shallow reasoning and a diffuse diction, his clear and flowing style, and copiousness of illustration, with the art which he certainly possessed of enlivening even dry subjects of finance with classical allusions and pleasant humour, made his speeches always acceptable to a large majority of his hearers."
"Let me not omit what gave me and all his friends sincere pleasure, that Frederick Robinson highly distinguished himself in the best young man's speech I ever heard in the Parliament. Peel, when he has spoken, has been more flowery, and with more classical allusion; but in readiness, in clear, forcible, and demonstrative language, and in the appearance of an old and able debater, Robinson beat him, and indeed all his contemporaries. Whitbread, who spoke after him, paid him very handsome compliments."