LORDS km CROWN.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 746, 19 February 1910, Page 5

LORDS km CROWN.

VETO BILL. 'IF PEERS REJECT IT, WHAT WILL THE KING DO? LIBERALS' DIFFICULTY-LABOUR BOMBSHELL. >. To-day's cable messages indicato ' that the Government cannot rely, -'-.upon either Nationalist or.Labour ■ support for the Budgat unless the . • Bill dealing with the Lords' veto can first bo passed by a-direct i passage from tho Commons to the , King. ■ The position i thus turns upon v the question whether the Government can obtain from tjie King a guarantee that tho concurrence of • the-Lords may be dispensed with. > MR. ASQUITH'S DILEMMA. v NATIONALISTS, LABOUR,: AND TEE 1 SOVEREIGN. By Megranh—Press Association—Oopyrisht I (Roe. • February 18, 9.45 pjnJ , ■■■London, February 18. Here ore indications that f\ crisis has ■ been reached in the negotiations between : the' QoTßrnmtmt and " the other : parties (Irish Nationalists and Labour) as to tho Government's polioyvmth regard: to tho Budget and the House of Lords' veto. ;v, Mn Asquith and His Majesty. . . . .There have been : six- Cahinet meetings within, a week. Today's meeting'lasted two hours, and -wafl-adjourned until lata :. in the • afternoon. • ml In the interval the .'Prima Minister, ■ Mr.Asquith,. had : a : further audionco ; with his Majesty tho King. Meanwhile, Mr. ;T. P.' O'Connor (Nationalist M.P; for tho Sootland division > of '-.liiTerpool) is ; mediating betweenthe ' more V extreme /men and/ilinieters- .- Ho mtemovedtlio chief Literal Whip, the Mister: of Elibank, twice, and: next;conferretlwith • the -Nationalist;'. leaders, Messrs.' John Redmond and. Dillon. It . then apparent that an understand- ■ ing had boen reached between theGov- , ernmont 'and . the Notionalists. ' , - , • / ■ . Not .Acceptable to Labours , j : ■ Subsequently > the Labour party caused ; a new development. . Its chairman, Mr. - G. N.' Barnes, after. consulting with Mr. Keir Hardio and otlior prominent col- , leagues, authorised tho following statopient,::embodyins'"the 'Labour; partes. BetHall' speech,; Mr., Asquith is - prepared: to : hold office without-assurances. froai the King' regarding this House' of Lords' veto, fl'hieh, - moreover, ; will be/dealt with/only after.tile Budget has-been dealt with. ' \ "I know that: course {will! not bo accept-' able; C-Laljour; fparty.: i It implies 'that',the jpowers'-'that l; ,be ';'thmK' ! that "this. ; recent •eleotipnyhais;;nqt;,|)ee'n' decisive i with.regard to; tho Lords' ■ veto.' If Another Election, as Soon as Possible. '.'lt involves, therefore, another election. before; tho Lords': question, is ', set-, tied. :Ifthat 'election .'musfc ' occur, , Vve . ought to;haye;it as soon: as possihle. - - - ) ; "I am aware,', is. that ■ the finances of the, countiy must' . he , straightened. .' I sriy that .tho responsibility.for tho confusion ; of'the finances "sfioflliihe -put 1 on-the. authors of.-it. v.' i - : , r . Doubtless, v the : ;, fiiiaiicial difficulties poul4 ;bo overcome"by loans. and : otherwise." \-i. ,■;■ , I The Liberals interpret Mr. ' Barnes's • statement as, a declaration 'of war on tho Government, unless tho Lords' question , fs. decisively: dealt with beforo progresswiUi any other business is attempted. "THE TIMES" ON LABOUB. DOES THE ELECTION JTJSTIPT THE LORDS? . . . > (Bee. February 18, 10.10 pjn.) ' London, ■ February 18. 11l _ tho course of a r leading articlo: on tho situation "Tho' ■ Times" ." 6ays : .Barnes's, statement is considered : ■ a. manifesto. -Its tono is distinctly unpleasant, but'it forgets ttat tho authors . of thoconfusion were the Government . "They introduced the. Budget, which the .House, of Lords referred 'to -the- peo- • pie!;. : 'the ,''result \ras such that the : Budget 'cannot now bo passed.' The;' Lords ; :.weM:;j:jiistified,','-':and i.the * ?whojo.-case " 'against-, them falls to the ground.'" ' V The Parliamentary . correspond- ' ent of "The Times" 1 says that some of the extreme .Radicals are prepared to move an amendment I to the Address-in-Repiy regretting I .Mr, Asquith's not asking for .an i v assurance from the King,>' ' Mr.jT. P. O'Connor states that , there will be no crisis if the-Gov- : ernment is able to'declare that 1 the Veto Bill will become lav/ de- ■ spito the Lords'hostility to it.' i ;' Tho Jfationalists, Mr. O'Connor adds, i are-/opposed :.'to ::;iendihg', up ,;the Budget j beforo tho veto is dealt with, - inasmuch : : aa to do so would bo tantamount' to re- 1 cognising ; ; the-''right of •' the House .of ' Lords, to accept or ' reject tlib Budget, [.thus : nition; declared 'that the Lords shall ' never again possess. - v;: -."v. - ; . ; THE IRISH INDEPENDENTS. ■ ; . OPPOSITION TO THE BUDGET. ' .' London, February 17. -Mr, "William O'Brien. (Independent Na- ! has ;decided .to' sit for ' Cork ' .City. ;--;It, is : expected that: an' O'Bricnito i ; ivill;-,be,;dected for ;North-.EfUt ,Cork, for ' .which*. seat • Mr. . - O'Brien . was also elected... . 1 ,i ■!' v '■ "EOBBEEX OP IRELAND." (Keo, I'ebroary 18, IQ.IO pjri.), ■ Londop, February 18. Wm. O'Bnon, in a-letter to tho North-East Cork League, says; he is sure . that they -are';unshaUWy attached 'to the ' polioy which 'is -already making' tho ; before conniving at. the. robiiery of '.'lreland through Mi, Lloyd-George's Budget. . Mr. Dillon, in a letter to tho Itilkhagt Branch, of tho League,..,in acknowledging a contribution to the Parliamentaryfund,' 'says, election may ho forced on Ireland before many weeks.RAILWAY NATIONALISATION. ; 'Addressing buainfiss men in Dundee on January' 5; Mr. Winston Ciiurcliiil (who has now passed from the sphere of the Board: of Trade to that of the Home Office) said-that he had not come to plunge into' tho harsh-invective of party politics or to-paint thevivid ; arid- extravagant picture, with which tho extremists on both sides< loved, to decorate their political argument, ' '. ~ - ; . . Having; argued:.that,the net produco of .a"_lo_ per'cent.' tax on imports-would he : ho said that the oiily way ia ,which;wo;could, tax. the foreigner was to invest, our; .money with him und make him; pay .us. interest upon: it.'' If. there ■was going to be a lot. of good securities . .throwii; on the market at shipwreck prices,' he hoped that the business men

of Dundeo and he himself would - be there. ' ' ■ '

Mr. Churchill said- that ho was in fari our of the pajrmcnt of momljers, as was Jus father beforo him. (Cheers.) "Let ' nation'pay tho piper and lefc tho tyno bo Britannia?". (Cheers.)' If tho Liberals were returned to power tho Budget would .be sent up again to the House of Lords, - unmodified and unaltered. He wa9 in -favour of the nationalisation, of tho railways, but; .it would be a very unthrifty operation to nationalise tho land upon tho terms which the landowners would ask for it. ur industries stood 'at present upon tile solid ground of merit and efficiency,; nufc jf we onco, conceded a tariff duty , we .should not be able/until after years of. strife and suffering to shake.it off. It could, .not be for the advantago of tho worldng men .to vote for a policy that tax their food and make the cost of living dearer. (Cheers.). . The . British lion was a glorious animal, £,ut his . tail , was gangrened. (Laughter.) •They had .to deal with' that tail; (Cheers.) As for the House of Lords, they ', had thrown out the Budget because it touched' their .pockets and privileges.