LIBERAL MAJORITY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 784, 6 April 1910, Page 7

LIBERAL MAJORITY.

VETO DIVISION.

RESOLUTIONS COMMITTED BY 106 VOTES.

MR. CHURCHILL ATTACKED,

By Teleeraph-Press Asso'ciation-Copyrljht. (Rec. April 5, 11.40 p.m.)' London, April 5. In the House of Commons the debate was resumed, on -the motion of. tho Prime' Minister, Mr. Asquith—

"That this House resolve itself into a committee to consider the relations of the two Houses; and tho duration of Parliament''' arid on the amendment thereto .moved by Sir R.. B. .Finlay, Unionist member for Edinburgh and St. Andrew's Uriir versities—

''That this House regards a strong, efficient Second Chamber as necessary, and is willing to consider proposals for reform, but declines ■ proposals for destroying the usefulness of any Second Chamber, however constituted, and removing the, only safeguard ' against great. changes being made by the Government of the day, not only without tho-consent, but •against the'wishes of a majority of the electors."

Mr. 'Alfred Lyttelton, " formerly .Unionist Colonial Secretary, administer-: ed a stinging rebuko to'the Home Secrotary, Mr. Churchill; for his ungenerous and unseemly fashion of imputing to the King a'policy that the King was unable to deny. There was not a shadow of foundation for Mr. Churchill's suggestion of an alliance between the Radicals and the Throne.

Colonies and the Hereditary Principle,

Mr. Lyttelton added that in the democratic constitution granted to Australia the rights of a Second Chamber were recognised, and only last year the Government were so conscious of its necessity that they imposed a Second Chamber, with the right to reject money Bills, upon tho Union of South' Africa. .

Replying, the .Under-Secretary for the Colonies, Lieut.-Col. Seely, stated that the Government had not. imposed, but South Africa herself had prqppsedj a Second Chamber. .Had the Government attempted to set up a Second Chamber resembling the House of Lords, no self-governing colony would have endured it. -No' colony would give power to a Chamber based on,the hereditary principle. If the House, of Commons submitted to the House of Lords' pretensions, he 'was confident that' the self-governing Dominions would think the_ English people .> unfit to manage their own affairs. :

. Mr. T. Gibson Bowles (the (ex-Unionist who' was elected at. King's'- Lynn last January as Liberal) sharply criticised the Government's veto' resolutions.' , Mr. A. Bonar_La'w (Unionist member for Dulwich division of Camberwell) made, a telling summing-up for the Opposition. Mr. Lloyd-Ceorgo Replies, The debate was concluded by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. LlpydGeorgp. Hq declared'it was, better that the Liberals should bo .out of office, for a''.decade, than that thoy should longer submit to : the jLords -mutilating their Bills. If the people really wished for revolutionary measures; tho Lords' veto was as useless as the King's veto was during the Prenoh Revolution: _ Sir R. B.Finlay's.amendment was rejected, and. Mr! •Asquith's motion was agreed to. The.vpting was as follows :—, .'■; For the motion .....?....;... 358 Agajnsttha motion ;.....,. 252 Covernmont majority 108 . A CASE OF DIVIDED HOUSES, CABINET CLEAVAGE. :■' : O'BRIENITES V. REDMONDITES. London, April 4. Mr._ T. P.' O'Connor, Nationalist M.P. for Scotland division of Liverpool, and ono of tlie'leaders of the Irish Nationalists (Rednibndites), has cabled to_ the "New York Times" that the Irish are ready to swallow nearly everything'in'the Budget in order to keep the .Government together, but that 'a section of the Cabinet is seeking to confuse the issue over the Lords and the Budget, and is - equally ready to discredit Mr. L]oyd-Goorge, whose Budget and personality are ■ equally disliked. Mr. O'Connor characterises Mr: Asquith, Mr. Haldane, and Sir E. Grey as thorns in the sides of the Liberals. \ Mr. William O'Brien, leader of the independent minority, of' tho Irish Nationalists, states that Mr. Redmond and Mr. Dillpn refused to join himself vr t?" i Healy iu an witii Air. Lloyd-George, in consequence of which Ireland had lost a million sterljng annually. Ho advised tlie Ministers to omit Ireland from the Budget, and defy Mr, Redmond to oust them from office upon a pettifogging point of procedure for the Lords' veto. _ The Prime Minister, Mr. Asquith, in the House of Commons, denied promising the Nationalists any kind of Budget concessions.

THE VETO RESOLUTIONS. __In the House of Commons on March the Prime Minister (Mr. Asquith) tabled and explained in detail the proposed "Veto"- resolutions of the Government. ,• •' •

Mr. Asquith said thai tbe first proposed resolution laid it down as expedient that the House of Lords should be disabled by law so"that it could not reject or amend money Bills. Theso were defined as Bills which the Speaker-con-sidered contained only provisions deal-nig-with the imposition, repeal; remission, alteration, and regulation of taxation; also provisions for charges on tho consolidated fund or the provision of mouey by Parliament; supply- and appropriation, and control- or 'regulation of public money; and 'tho raising, guaranteeing, and repayment of loans, 'or matters incidental to those subjects. Tho second proposed resolution, Mr. Asquith continued, hold it to bo expedient that the powers of tho House of Lords respecting Bills other than money Bills, should bo legally restricted; so that when a Bill passed tho House of Commons in three successive sessions,- mid was sent to the House of Lords at least a month boforo tho end of tho session, and was'roiectod in each throo sossious, it should become , law without tho Lords' consent, upon the Royal assent; provided that at least-two years should have elapsed between/its first, introduction into the House of Commons, and the date when it passed tho Commons the third time. I "Bills shall bo treated as rejected,'' said Mr. Asquith, "if. they arc not passed by the House of Lords'without amendment, or with only amendments agreed to by both Houses*' . The- third' proposed resolution, Mr. Asquith stated,: tdiitemplßted 'limiting tlw duration of Parlfemant to fiva sum,