ROSEBERY SPEAKS

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 674, 26 November 1909, Page 7

ROSEBERY SPEAKS

AGAINST BUDGET. BELIEVES THE BEST CURE WOULD BE TO PASS IT. DISEASE WOULD WORK ITS OWN , REMEDY. (By Teloeraph.-Fresß. ABSoelatton.-OopyrlEnt.l ■]',■•■ (Rec. November 25, 8.45 p.m.) ' .'■•■■ London, November 25. Owing to the number of Conservatives who desire to speak, the debate on the Governments Finance' Bffl.N and the. .-Unionist amendment declining tho House of Lords' consent tilUhe Bill has been submitted to the judgment of the people, will not be finished before.Tuesday.. The expectations of. a speech by Lord Eoseuery drew a remarkable audience to the House of The Marquis of Salisbury declared that tho House of Lords did not, in the present amendment, pretend to exercise the absolute. veto,' but said: "The country shall decide." The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Davidson, on behalf of the majority of the bishops, announced that as the division on the.Budget would be strictly of a party character, the Episcopal Bench would stand aside. ■ ;. ■, . No Longer the Money Centre. Lord Rosebery said the present crisis was the' greatest .since 1832 (the year of the .Reform Bill). The Budget was crude and vindictive, and threatened to poison' the very source ol Britain's, national : supremacy. The Budget had' already destroyed confidence in Britain as the money market . of the world. Britain ■was V. longer the strong-box and safe of Europe, .to , which foreigners sent .their savings for 6afety- The Budget's influence waslike a .groat invading' miasma spreading, , the .disease of want-of-confldenco which was fatal to, a commercial nation: Ships: were going '.westward carrying bonds and stocks as ballast; bnt the strength, efficiency, and security of the Second-Chamber^was.'more: vital to.the country, than the Budget. ; ";,'.■ . ~ . : Suggests a Referendum, , He had no fault to find with.Lord Lansdowne's' resolution in that it did riot ask for the rejection of: the. Budget, bnt was tion bringing about an appeal to the com-: munity: The power of tho .House of Lords should 'only .be exercised under exceptional circumstances, with the express condonation of ;tho nation , itself. He would gladly vote , for some form. Of referendum, , but as Prime Minister. (Liberal Administration ; 1891-95) he had given. utterances.with'.reference.to the;. House; of Lords and financial legislation, which prevented him, from in favour of Lord Lansdowno's amendment. : ' ■ ■ •.'-.■;

■'-'■' Second Chamber' Risking Its Existence; ■; The general elections were not conducted in a Palace of:Tnith, and it. was difficult to obtain the nation's clear- ; decision. The House of .Lords, by voting for the. amendment, moved by Lord Lansdowne, would be risking i tho existence of the, Chamber itself. He approliended that the. result would boanappenl to,;the;country upon an unrofotfmed-hereditary Socond Chamber.."The'first:.basis of 'reform ; would be a system; of delegation similar to ; that practised' in the. cases of tho. Scottish /'and, Irish peerage. The House of Lords might oven elect .150, peers to vote.upon Lord, Lansdowno's. resolution, and they .would, carry, more weight than ;yote ; of-'the wliole'. Chninber'.',' He , waa' . not . 'greatly;.:' , alarmed. ; by' menaces'.: The House: • of; ; ;' Lord s: • had , "long ,'lived WJ*, .J, but; -'the:: present, .'menaces jCame: irpm;! men: :; who did not ...value th'o l .cbi\trpl}ing i .iorces;.of a., Second Chambermen who were'eminently; revolutionary,in. OS--sonce, if not in fact.'.' ' : '. : .i ; '. '~ .. ■ "'" '■:*■ ;':■ y. Doing what their'. Enemies; Wished. ' . ' The, tendency of modern legislation, contin-' uedLprd Eosobery, was to shoot , up measures from an over-worked House of Commons to'the' House of Lords-like rubbish on a, dung heap; -.therefore, the Lords should;.' carefully' reservothe .powers.of resistance, which: they possessed, iln .rejecting the Budget) they would,be,doing oxactly'.what their Enemies wished.". He fav•oared v a : 'lcss. heroic: policy' than Lord ' Lansdowne's; he believed , that the winning policy would havo;been to pass the, Budget and give the'rcountry six or?eight months', cxperienco of its 'intolerable, imposition. ;and . intolerable ;bureaucracy, and above,:allf.of..'the:, enormous loss-of!employment of capital it.involved. The opponents of. the Budget would then have achieved a.victory, when next.they approached the polls, which would: havo surprised them.

:; : CHANCELLOR DEFENDS BUDGET. :•/••: /',;■.. ■■■,' . London, November 24.:. •■: Mr.. Lloyd-George, : Chancellor of ..the Ex.' chequer,"has written aproface to a book called "The People's Budget," which is published aa: a manifesto. In this preface the. Chancellor 'says:—"The wildest'accounts of the -Budget's proposals are often; given to the public:. The land clauses. contain most ample provisions. for unemployment, and they will eventually destroy the selfish and stupid monopoly, now so egregiously,'mismanaged, of land;. Only thebusiness, community' can 'appreciate the extent to which'the present system of ownership of land hampers and. embarrasses -trade: and in-, .dustry.",' .'. • ,;-v : -:.\>' ':■. :...-■' ■■■/.- ..■■'•-•'. ■:" ' It .is. understood that in. 'order ■to.- avoid financial difficulties.in the case of a dissolution, being rendered by the- Lords' rejecting the Budget, .the Government will ask the. House of Commons ta reaffirm the Budget resolu. tions, with an addition that they shall continue in, force till March 31 ,nest.- The resolutions cover the new taxes, and those old ones-which are reimposed annually. •.■'■' ''■ . ;' V, ; , ': :' ■; A REFERENDUM. ,> . '.• In view'.of, Lord llosebery's suggestion'of a refereudum, the following trom"a recent".issue , of the "Daily Mail" is of interest:—.. ' ' It is known that Ministers, have been, considering for o month or.six weeks the possibility, if the Lords refuse to pass the Finance Bill, of ascertaining the opinion of the electors upon tho Budget by means of a referendum. Steps wereLtoken to find oat -how■■ such a novelty in British political history: could bo" introduced, and details of a scheme were being I worked .out; but preparations havo. now been [.suddenly 1 suspended. ■■■,:': " ■ .■■ 'JL'he difficulties of. taking' a ■ referendum are great.. In effect the. word means that a project is specially balloted "for" or "against"' by all the electors of a district or; country. In" Switzerland tho referendum is in force both in the •cantons individually and in the ofthe. cantons; in several cantons a new law can come in force only if .the people by referendum approve it. Not only, Tiowever, is the referendum entirely new in this cotmtry, but there: would be tho further novelty: that a rpferondum on tho Bridget would bo taken bbfore it passed both Houses, and not after, as is the caso.in Switzerland. . ... ~ .-..■■■-

."The Times" points out in favour of the schemo that it would bo less costly than a gonernl election. Voting papers with envelopes to contain them' when filled up could be delivered to all the electors or coiUd be availablo on a stnted day at the pollings bootlie. "The Times" arffuos that there need be no' difficulty in passing a Bill to institute the referendum in this case, for if' tho Lords refused to pass tho Budget; on tho ground , that J it should be referred' to tho people, they could hardly resist a Referendum Bill for that very object. During an adjournment of Parliament for the referendum, the financial resolutions of the Commons would still hold good, bo that tho chaos causod by a dissolution beforo tho new taxes already collected were authorised' would bo avoided. ■ '. .'•' ■

But it-is certain that this'argument of "The Times" overlooks the real-difficulties.-'"iii'the first placo, there aro. 7,514,481 electors, and tho problem of creating machinory to reach eachone is enormous. As tho essence of: the rel ferondum is that tho .voter Bhould bo ablo to auswer "Tcs" or: "No .-.-by means of a cross, thero is the supremo difliculty of friming tho question to bo placed on'the ballot paper. A powerful argument from tho Liberal point of view against tho referendum is uttered by tho "Wostminstcr' Gazette,"- which says that to adopt it "would bo:in effect.a-wholly unn'ocossary iibanQonment, of the financial prlvK 'legea of the House of Commons." ' 'V' - :."