BRITISH ELECTIONS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1022, 11 January 1911, Page 6

BRITISH ELECTIONS.

ON'THE EVE OF THE FRAY. : HOW IT STRIKES A COLONIAL. (Bt "Dominica.") London, December 2. One might imagine that' it was very exciting.for.au outsider to be in London -just now, on , tho very eve of an election on. which so much depends, but from that point of view London is distinctly dull, and it, isj difficult to believe that the city elections are actually taking place to-morrow. . For ono thing! of course,'the time has. been too short. to permit of any great excitement being 'worked up. Parliament was dissolved on. Monday, which gives only.four clear days before the first poll-ing-day, and then again ' the proportion of people who have no say in the matter is . enormous. "The indifference of the mass of Londoners'to great issues is one of.the most amazing features of a general :'election 'here," said an Australian who noticed tho same thing last January, "it. seems as if only on the rarest occa,sions can- tho great mass bo touched, as, for instance, at the death of King Edward;" ' He: might have added, "or the trial of Dr; Crippen," for'it was marvellous 'what a hold that had on the popular imagination,' how much more exciting it Sroved .'th'ari. tho trembling fate of' the [qiise of Lords. - . -'. ' Political meetings are probably being /held all round about London, but' if so it is extremely difficult to find out anything about them, as tho newspapers content themselves mainly with noting' tho big-ones .that are .to be held each day in different parts; of the United Kingdom, perhaps'mentioning a very few.in outlying, suburbs as. well, and one hears notli--ingi.of tho others. The greatest meeting held in London, so far, was tho 'huge one at tho Albert Hall last Tuesday, when Mr. Balfour made' his belated statement

that, this election would-not be fought on grounds of tariff reform. The Albert Hall seats ten thousand people, and it was: packed .iwith ..a./crowcL—that seems to-have, exhibited at* this' pbiht a great deAl. more emotion than was" shown by any. of. the Suffragists at. their recent huge meetings,: which' was .the more remarkable seeing that' among- that great assemblage there \were only five hundred women.! Thousands of women had applied for admission,, but were, sternly refused. ' Judging-/by .one y hears,; Mr. Lloyd--.George -is the^most.-detested man' in, the feingdom—a.'^nan/'believed' by-millions to be < without convictions, a 'charlatan intent only.; on serving" liis own' ends, and yet .•by, ; his . followers ho is . regarded • with sxtraordinarv enthusiasm.. How far ,thai\ Enthusiasm *takes. the form of personal devotion,'or of>belief in the;ihan's greatness I'have ..not. ,yet found out.- Great he probably- is- not, but .'he is the . man ;of the 'moment;' . *' .; •

.The 'candidates,;and their friends .are loing. their "best with the timo -at: their lisposal to wprk ' their .. electorates, but

'itlis out ofithe question to attempt aiiy ordinary -methods.". Some of these city electorates''are" so ..enormous that .it is hopeless ever, to attempt- to reach each individual; rind now the-bulk of election? eering ;is. beirig done through the post arid : through, tho press. -I have spent .a good deal of-time at one committee room where the dullest routine work .has had to'.bo done, arid, from .'there, circulars were f-ent to twelve .'thousand electors, yet that was : .by ; -no .means -one. of the. largest of the . electorates. - The election is being taken, on-.the old January.register, ,and the.-''greatest' ;task:the canvassers have, to perform', is' t6' trace the removals, for : to whatever part- of "the Kingdom a voter has gone, his vote remains where .it Was ill' January.. An idea, of how these srib- ■ urban '"papulations are constantly shifting may be; gathered from . the fact that in 'brio electorate' of. twelve -.-thousand, no fewer than two thousand have moved from their January address.

v- The electioneering of the. newspapers is not edifying.' ..They .display an amount. of : feeling, a'want of dignity, a frankness /iri' their personal references, and a contempt for the 1 inpjt obvious facts that'aw 'positively, startling to a. colonial reader", accustomed- to think of Eriglish methods as, altogether decorous. / The-only other •signs or the Campaign ; that catch * one's eye,are. the posters displayed .in private houses , arid on. hoardings. Private people are fond of sticking up in their windows or gardens exhortations'adorned with a coloured picture of the "Union Jack, and sometiiries every house ,in a long terrace will' proclaim its fancy for one candidate. One' becomes sick of the very sight of the Union Jack,.\vhich will certainly bo worn fo 'rags'before'the campaign is oyer. If this is a sample of the way it electioneers, one. feels sure, it must suffer more from the average general election than from a thousand years of'braving tlie battle and the- bneeze. ~ < The huge poster cartoons are the most interesting features of the campaign, though there, is not half the display of , one -would' expect: The Unionist cartoons aro mainly sensational" and alarmist' Tor' many: days a horrifyinglymilitant : helincted man has 1 been glaring : from -a dim, mysterious background. His eyes gleam savagely, and in his upraised arm Ho.holds a sword bearing the words "Foreign'competition." The startled clec;tor, confronted by this image, is abjured ilf huge'" letters to "Protect your nation and-your-employment." ■ ........ : Then appears a shocking picture drawn, with all the cleverness of which , Mr. John Uassall-is-capable, and one. only- ■ hopes that-his conviction was in his hand when lie .painted a rough ..Irishman, shillelagh tucked under his arm, dancing on the prostrate . Union Jack with such vigour that al fragment of red, white, aifd blue sticks .to his heel. . ■ "Protect your flag" is the legend beneath this, and an-' other picture in,the same spirit that.apS cared on the hoardings yesterday showed lessrs. Asquith, Lloyd-George, and Churchill on their Irneps before' Mr. Redmond,, who is arrayed in tho traditional Uncle Sam suit, and who scornfully flips ;American- dollars at . them. This was bound to. bo called "The Dollar Prince.", A still more, savage picture, that at least orio candidate is u«ing, shows a l-burly: Irishman, dancing on the face of i fallen; John Bull,while a -bag of money, labeled:'"Fenian-funds" is sticking out of ■hispocket, ' . ■' The /Liberal posters are not nearly so sensational, and, content themselves mainly, with making fun of the House of Lords and its balance of power. In one there are huge" scales, where the GOO members ,of tho. llouso of Lords are figured as outweighing all the voters, To-day they have a new one of- three redrobed peers in full flight,, and below it is written: "See them -run.' Let theni ruri." There are Free-trade posters, .too, but, generally speaking, .the. House, of Lords' issue is kept plainly before the public. It is rather bewildering this contest, like listening to a conversation between two.. stone deaf people, for each party keeps up its .own clamour, not troubling to'reply to -the other's arguments—where indeed there is any argument. to: answer.

The day after llr. Balfour's bis speech I had a very interesting conversation with Mr. W. T. Stead. "I don't pretend to bea prophpt, you know," he sa-id, "but if you want to.know what I think I'll tell you," and .'.then -.ho ', proceeded to discuss the prospects of the parties. "If Mr.-Balfour-had made last night's statement a month. sooner," ho said, "if he had thrown the.question of. tariff reform' overboard before the election campaign the .Unionists would, have had a very much better. chance of success, hut it is. altogether too late now for them to Rain anything by it. I knew they would have" to let tariff, reform eo, for tliey knew-very well the country ■ would never G'andit," ■ "The Unionists have made two great mistakes,", said, Mr.' Stead; "first in .admitting that the hereditary principle of the Second Chamber was wrong, and now in throwing overboard tariff reform at the very, last minute. They are feeling very blue about this election, and are quit.o expeoting the Liberals to win. In fact, they expect the Liberals to come back with a bigger majority than that party itse(f is counting on. The result of a general election can usually be forecasted very accurately by experienced politicians, you know. _ .It. does not come as .a surprise except in rare instances. This time the Liberals hope to gain twelve .seats, but I happen to know definitely that' the Unionists Expect thcni to gain twenty-five; that is the way their most catefnl calculations work out. Tor my part I think the Government could quite well afford to'lose a dozen sealsjnstead of gaining tliem.. and'still have a majority sufficiently large to carry their measure." ■