The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1910. THE BRITISH OUTLOOK.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 724, 25 January 1910, Page 6

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1910. THE BRITISH OUTLOOK.

SranoiENT returns are to 'hand now, to enable ■ .us ,to' : ' see.;.• roughly what w,ill, be .the.- relative, strength of the four parties in ;the. House of Commons.; ..The;-Labour group will number about; ;and'- if there, are' 80. Nationalists,' ;there, will then be about, 300 Unionists vand. 250 .Lib-: erals—an' immense ■change., indeed from the position in thp late-Parliar-' dependent on, the Nation-: alists for-their retention/of office,; and Lip will-be : their-; business.'.; to shape: their course . accordingly; .'■■'•lf. is ;■ plain ■-that- a "doal"; has been arranged between the Liberals and the Irish members, for MiuEedmond has -formally .expressed his • Batisfaction with.; : Mb.. Asquith's. "pledge" 'in •-. regard ■; to Home Eule.-; Since' Me. Asquith's "pledge": was -rather a pledge to reBist. the-Hoine, Rule': movement: than anything:.else,- Me. Eedmond's an-, nouncement supplies, the last; proof' that, .the .Prime:' Minister -has been tricking, the'. electors---that,-..' he -has been ready, to grant Homei Rule'if. political;;necessities;.domanded it of him, but; anxious, ;first,': to secure tho Itish vote in,the-boroughsj-'and then: to secure : the, ■ anti-Homo : Rule ; voto.in the-counties.-' first movo,therefore,' will be ; against : 'the Peers' powers; of revision, 7 , and. here- 'tha Government can;. count;. .upon .the solid support of the group and .the.^Nationalists. , '.:.. Assuming, •that the .move; succeeds .the way will be•': clear' for. Home. Rule; and': the Budget, but the Liberals' difficulties will.then begin.'',.'])!o'r-the National-. ists,,:who do not;care:a,.fig. : for.;the Biidget,;;and-.who will: bo ;very, con-. Ecious.of itheir'.Btrength, will riot!be content with {any.-.programme ...that does -.not'/set Home.,' Rule: in ,'the, fore-: ifront.. .'• They .will insist on; Homo , Rule 'before delivering their support to the new taxes. Should. tho -Government j grant.;- a', satisfactory.)measure of self-government, to Ireland; the Budget will stand a.very fair chance of passing the House of Commons, although in a greatly modified form.

;-. But:will the Government be,able' to meet .the/terms of:'" their-; Irish'.: allies?.-. 'It is ..well known'iiat °a; great- many'of the'. Libeirials 'always' have;been, and always ; will be, opposed to ahy.iracture of the.Union. Even' in, the'■ Ministry itself ■.thereare divided counsels.-'lf'the figures .which, we have given as •representing the: probable issue, of the contest aro realised, the existence: of only forty anti-Home ' Eulers in : . the ranks. of' the Liberals will:'suffi.ce.:to prevent the.lGoverhment from granting' 'the Nationalists, the .price- of..their sup-, port for' the Budget. -.The.merits,of the hew taxes long ago ceased to be a basis for. argument, and /.this is surely, rather,' a/;hard fate and' a strange , destiny, for 1 "the most popular: Budget of modern times." body i doubts for, 'a single 'moment that'if, on ".the , reassembling; of Parliament, the' Budget resolutions were immediately brought forward,.and: were; approved.-by.: the House, .the, Peers l would offer, ho opposition: to their, enactment as, the ;law of-the land: , But.it. is certainthat .if submitted to this, the .only valid Parlia-, mentary. : test,'thb> Budget .'.of last. year-.could .';not ..pass: -through v'i the' Commons. What its merits, cannot achieve, apparently, the. Government hopes to achieve by ; manipulating other issues quite foreign to the new taxation- proposals. VWe are, given to-day some further .evidence of Mis.; Asquith's anxiety:,as -to bis';"Bocial" policy, for at Fife,.in explaining his'"social reform"-1 programme,"he twice used the ; qualifying phrase: "If you send us back to Westminsterwith an! adequate majority." Me. CHUECHILii,' in■', ;: the .'{ meantime, is threatening to "riin the Budget through or,over the House of Lords" —a singular threat. from a: member of the Government that has been denouncing the "unconstitutional" action ,of the Peers...: The outlook is a stormy :one, for even if the Lords submit to tho destruction of their reason for existence, the Budget has still before it the prospect of destruction through :the inability of the Liberal party to retain the cohesion- necessary for -the passage of the only measuro that will secure the Nationalists' support. ~ ■-'.'....'■''.•]