The Dominion. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1910. THE BRITISH POLITICAL CRISIS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 741, 14 February 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1910. THE BRITISH POLITICAL CRISIS.

:■ i .;;-:/.;;: -.;.■ T7T--—^7-—r-"3 : . :■;-.:'' y".. ;■ ' : .The.'cable, "messages. of ' Satuir-' day ; :-and ■;. ;to-day;:>how. ythat; ■-./.the' political: situation in .Great Britain; istaking exactly: : that turn : which,we' predicted', sbme. ; tHree .weeks ago'. There .'.'are ■" two 'courses;' open - to' the Government?:'. Eitheryit .can jgive. precedence Vto" the: Budget,: or,', it - can. proceed ; '■'at: :whatever, scheme':it.ha'B.devise'd—if ithas devised' any."scheme—for the'v.destruc-' iion:of--the;'legislative-authority of. the. Peers., ...Some', time ; . ago- it' ber . came.apparent that there, was;a" split 'in : .the:''party':'as: to.;the : - safest procedure.; .:Oh the: one: hand the' extremists; in ithe'l Cabinet'.'and in:the ;Press, flattering the.; hopes that, Me. Lloyd-George's rhetoricVhad sown -'in.'the.brea^taVo'f.the hot-headed secl„tion'. of-': the : party;.; were'''declaring that the 1 . Lords, must...be: dealt with before any pother ,business.was:taken.. Since Mr., Asqtjith .'arid many of bis colleagues;'had;.intimated• that they' would -not-! hold 'office '■ unless the power of'thei Lords were Iroken, and, since the whole- body-of the -Liberal, election \ speeches, had;. 1 gone.... to the i persuading of : the Liberals in the .country that: nothing "mattered very greatly excepting'..:- "the ; constitutional question," it was obvious tHat: the '. Government would have great; difficulty in avoiding the, fulfilment; of its threats. .While the- Manchesl ier Gtfardim- and the Daily' News t were demanding precedence for. the Attack'. ; upon : the. .Lords, . the minder ' Gazette and"", tho' : Daily 'Chronicle were industriously prej paring the-way; for a back-down by' the Government. '-..The -Daily : News] ; we learn to-day,. has been driven . t<f admit that it has .failed ] to direct; the .Government's policy and that the Government " has - decided against hurrying the .Veto . Bill.'j' The reasons for the: anxiety to place the, Budget first 'are.' as. we. nave, shown .in earlier articles, very easy indeed to understand. It is. realised that although Labour and Nationalist support is assured for the movement against the (Upper . House, the : dcßtructibji of the Peers'- veto is anything but a simple thing; it is recognised, indeed, that thoro is no practicable means at all of "smashing the vetoj 1 while. preserving the bi-cameral principle. The Government, ia therefore anxious to avoid an initial failure, and, perhaps fooling that its tenure of office cannot bo Ion?; is anxious to get tho Budget through in a modified' form", hoping tliijt whatever may happon subsequently some ,of the now taxos will stick.. But it. is just at this point that the ; Nationalists'/ possession of tlio balance of power makes itsolf felt as a thing to reckon with. As wo. pointed out on January 25 tho Nationalists, do not caro a fig'for the Budget, but "they will insist on Home Rule boforo delivering thoiir support to tho. new taxos." '.'Tliojr caro only for Homo Utile, and thoir political memories do not incline I them to trust any Lihoral Govcrp■ment's professions. They suspect that if tbo Liboralo can got the Bud-

got through there yill be a cooling of tho: Liberal passion against tho veto, and, therefore, a betrayal of the plodge which was given by Mn. Asquith at. the Albert Hall,'and which was. promptly welcomed by the National Directory of the United Irish League with an emphasis that was obviously meant as a' warning to Mr. Asquith that there must be ,no trifling. When Mr. Redmond declared His anxiety fo postpone all his , demands until he had assisted the Government to correct the Upper House, his statement had a surface appearance of, cordiality. It was not difficult, however, to see.that a menace was hidden under that surface, and on Saturday' we had the menace naked and beyond misunderstanding. ■ Sending the Budget to the"Upper House before dealing with tho question o£ the veto,, he said, would give the whole case against the Lords away, ■ would disgust' every British; democrat, and would ■ break unashamedly an explicit, pledge on the faith of which Ireland had promised her support tr Mr. Asquith. The Prime Minister, had. promised, said' Me. . Redmond, never, to assume or retain.office', unless .he received assurances; which would enable him, to curb the Lord's; veto, and if ; he wavered 'in ■that purpose or paltered with his pledge's Mr. Asotith would drive the Liberals into.the wilderness for twenty years.; "The .policy of pass-! ing , the.' Budget and adjourning consideration of the question of.yeto,": Mr. Redmonii concluded, ;..'!is.,.ono which Ireland cannot, and , will hot, approve." ;' Ireland .is said; .to he ''surprised , ' at. this, : .'statement, but, we can. hardly".believe , that'.thero can be' much : real surprise, in- Ireland, of all places, at.a,statement of pol- , icy -which,."appeared fairly' obvious weeks ago even , at this great distance from'.the scene.; .: ■.::'C :.' ' \■: . :'■ The ; ; Government .appears, therefore,; to be in a position of extreme embarrassment. : To ."smash"- the Lords is. impracticable, ,and ( there : fore a:project that cannot beconsidered as an opening policy for the new. Parliament; \ Tie alternative is; the bringing' in of the Budget, and; it appears that ■ failure threatens-the-Government ih.thisLcase also.' Should; the, Nationalists decide after' all ; to..support the. Budget,; it'will 1 be :clear—it ' 'woiild';'have;been .clear even- without-.'Mr. latest speech—that' the price of the Budget is. such a new. Home Rule, pledge as , has' satisfied the - justifiably'' suspicious -'and : distrustful Nationalist leader. In' that case,.the section of the Liberal party :which. is opposed; to.'any-such measure,- of .Home Rule as Mr.-Redmond will accept can hardly; fail: to .Gbvorriment.'.; The', comments', of the .newspapers are extremely entertaining in .their .fajlure'to. conceal, the' motives underlying them; The Daily News, -for example, is,now-making , much''-of the necessity'.for saying,the current income-tax—ah. excuse' fpr! the; priority of the Budget which' is delightfully ; lame even when it : ; is known .that it : is an: excuse put '. fpr : . wardby_ a journal .that is no doubt diaappbintedvat not; being able to persuade the Government into adopting the .'other policy.'; Tho Pall Mall, Gazette is. still more;humorous.; It has- suddenly ■ discovered that; "the immodiate;' business .'of the' House. of Gommons , 'is to , pass,-the ancl. regularise. .the _ recent.' collection , , of. revenue..".: This. stickling.- for .financial regularity- would be , very, touching were it not; perfectly- obvious that:the; is, eager, io see the Government, defeated'without', a ■ secdnd's. delay. j . The. fate of the. Gov r ernment'' lies" ;in . Mr.T Redmond's; hand. . The fate, of.' the Budget'. de-j pehds upon; whether" the 'Nationalists 1 c'ah.'trust any/Liberal pledge. For; .a generation l ,they have been; learn-; ingithat the; Liberals' ,,^affection : is centred'.on; Liberal,, measures;,;and' that-'; Home'.;. Rule ■! must .take its 'chahce'sV!;■■:■"■'.■..'■■■'i-.- , . ; ;.^v.vA :: > v : :- : ';- v