A MOMENTOUS ISSUE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 985, 28 November 1910, Page 7

A MOMENTOUS ISSUE.

SPEECHES BY PARTY LEADERS MR. ASQUITH ASKS FOR FAIR PLAY. REFERENDUM CONDEMNED. By Tclceriph-Pross Association-Copyrlijut. (Rec. November 27, 5.5 p.m.) London, Novomber 26. .Mr. Asquith, in speaking at Hull, was frequently interrupted by Suffragettes. Ho declared tho election to bo tho most momentous in British history. Tho Veto Confereneo having failed, ought they, he asked, to waste another twelve months over a futilo enterprise? Liberal legislation'under existing conditions was a hopeless task. Referring to tho criticism of the relations between tho Liberals and the Irish' Nationalists, Mr. Asquith said tbo electors, at any rate, were not under the domination of Mr. Redniond, or compelled to tako up any particular line. The conversion of tho House of Lords to the referendum principle was the, most remarkablo in political • history.' Tho House of Lords' resolutions would destroy the basis of government by representation, and democracy without representation would soon degenerate into anarchy or Caesarism. Mr. Asquith denied that the Liberals had planned or schemed for a single Chamber. Their plan was not put forward as a final solution, but as tho least that was necessary for real progress. Tho Prime Minister then repeated hisAlbort Hall statement, that he was in favour of self-government for Ireland, and tho freeing of the Imperial Parliament from much detail work, Hβ Ije-Hove-A th-3 Government's efforts would have the sympathy of'an overwhelming majority in tho oversea dominions, who had learned how easy it was to; combine local autonomy with > Imperial loyalty. He urged the electorates to concentrate on tho moro immediate, task of winning fair play for Liberal legislation. They must make the people, through their representatives, really and effectually, supremo in legislation. All other issues, however multifarious, were subordinate to this.

Li concluding, Mr..Asquith condemned the referendum on the ground that it i\ould impair, if not destroy, Iho !,tiiso of Parliamentary responsibility. Hβ dematded that tho Government should be given tho key for unlocking uli° gate of tho people's rights. MISSING LIBERAL PEERS. QUESTIONS 8Y LORD LANSDOWNE. DENIES OBSTRUCTION BY THE LORDS. (Rec. November 27, 5.5 p.m.) London, November 26. Lord Lansdowno, speaking at Glasgow, said tho last four Liberal Administrations had created 136 Poors. In tho Budget division in 1909,, however, only 75 of theso had toed tho line. What had happened to the remainder? Thoy had evidently been unablo to stomach the Radical-Socialist diet. ' Mr. Winston Churchill's . statement that Liberal legislation had encountered a black Wall of refusal, Lord Lansdowuo declared to bo an unpardonable misstatement. Out of 230 measures introduced in tho last four years, only six wero,. rejected by the Houso of Lords. 'These rejections were solely for the purpose of referring tho mea.sures to tho judgment of the people. Lord Lansdowno also referred to a statement by .Lord Carrington, President of tho Board of Agriculture, that there had never been a time when such an amount of Liberal legislation had boon adopted. The wholo of tho bother, his Lordship declared, arose through tho rejection of tho Education, Licensing, and Finance Bills. Neither the second or third Education Bill, however, had been sent near tho Hpuse of Lords. Tho Licensing Bill waß most rnthless and. vindictive, and tho legislation was thrown out on its merits. . The Government ,tookcaro to have no election on that Bill. . Tho House of Commons was overworked, and was passing moro and moro under the domination of a party machine, controlled' by groups ready to combine for sinister purposes. Ho was prepared to admit tho predominance of tho Hoiiso of Commons in financo, but the Government denied tho Houso of Lords almost all opportunity of dealing with other fields of legislation, such as tariff reform, which was the first plank in tho Unionist constructive legislation. IRISH DOMINATION. SIR E. CARSON ON THE REAL ISSUE. , (Rec. November 27, 5.5 p.m.) London, November 26. Sir Edward Carson,'who was SolicitorGenera' in the last Unionist Ministry, in a- speech at. .Liverpool, said tho Government loathed that their measures should bo referred to the'people. The House of Lords had compelled them to refer tlip. Budget to the peoplo, and after the election Parliament had waited for months, but no Budget appeared, because Mr. Redmond had to bo "squared." The Govornment bribed Mr. Redmond to let tho Budget pass, but Ireland .was determined that there should be no second Budget, and to-day the Govornment dare not send Form Four of its land tax iichedulcs to'lreland. ' .

Tho Irishman had double tlio money in the savings bank as compared with what he had twenty years ago, but they only gave Mr. Redmond peace where Ford's Americans gave dollars. The real . question before tho country was whether there shall be an autocracy on any scratch majority in tho Houso of Commons. Ho foretold that tho men of the North of Ireland would never yield to the domination of the South. SPEECH BY MR. BURNS. LORDS AND THEIR PRIVILEGES. (Roe. November 27, 5.5 p.m.) London, November 26. Mr. John Burns, President of the Board of Trade, in an election address, declared that in tho main tho Houso of Lords only obstructed tho people's Parliament when tlieir interests or social class privileges wore threatened. Tho Lords enjoyed favours, ofßcos, and emoluments that should go to the most capable and worthy of all classes. ■ Mr. Burns advocated tho granting of such legislative independence as would enable Ireland to rovivo her industries and maintain her population, and would stimulate her social and agrarian prosperity in accordance with Irish ideas. The Imperial supremacy of tho federal British Parliament should remain inviolate as regards Imperial matters. Hβ also favoured adult suffrago with votes for both men.and women.