MR. ASQUITH SHOUTED DOWN

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1189, 26 July 1911, Page 7

MR. ASQUITH SHOUTED DOWN

PANDEMONIUM IN PARLIAMENT.

lEIBERS ALIOST COIE TO BLOWS

EXTRAORDINARY SCENES.

SPEAKER SUSPENDS THE SITTING.

By ToleerapH-Free s Asaoclatioa-Coryrlubt (Rec. July 26, 1 a.m.) London, July 25. Extraordinary scenes of disorder were witnessed in the House of Commons yesterday when the Prime Minister Mr. Asquith, made his statement with regard to tho amendments made by the House of Lords in the Parliament Bill. When the House assembled it was evident that the atmosphere was electric, a general hubbub of conversation and movement going on among members while questions were being asked. The galleries were crowded, rnanj Peers and diplomatists being present, and on tho floor of the House those members who wero unable to tind seats tiled the gangways and stood at tho Bar of the Mr?' John Redmond, the Irish Nationalist leader, was greeted with ironical Unionist cheering as he entered. MR, ASQUITH ENTERS. A few minutes later Mr. Asquith entered and the Liberals, Kadicals, Kedmondiles, and Labour members instantly rose, waved their order papers, and

head that a. Minister of the Crown could give such advice." The Premier, ho continued, had asked them to discuss the Bill knowing all the time that they were not freo agents, and that he advised the boverei»u to make him an absolute dictator. Mr. Asquith responded: "I was going to givo a reasoned argument for the grounds of my advice, but I am not allowed to do so." THE REAL HEROES, Mr. Balfour admitted this, and said he believed that Mr. Asquith's action was due to his consciousness that it would have been a cruel trial to the Sovereign to have introduced discord during tho Coronation. The Opposition Leader then concluded his speech by stating that tho real heroes of the. campaign were the Irishmen. Their decrees had been obsequiously obeyed. Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, protested against the Opposition's refusal to hear Mr. Asquith, and moved the adjournment of the debate.

cheered. Counter-cheers, mingled with cnoa of "Traitor!" came from tho Opposition benches. This demonstration had been carefully prepared and paragraphs referring to it had appeared generally in the newspapers. It was evident that the later disturbance was duo to a number of the Tories determining on a counter-demon-stration. When- Mr. Asquith rose to make his statement ho was greeted with cries of "Patrick Ford!" This caused fierce Liberal protests and cries of "Order!" The Speaker then called on members to exerciso self-control and observe the ordinary courtesies of debate. Lord Hugh Cecil, Unionist member for Oxford University, who was sitting in a corner front bench below tho gangway, shouted: "This is not an ordinary occasion !"' "TRAITOR! TRAITOR!" Mr. Asquith again rose and a group of tho Tories, who favour a fighting policy, headed by Lord Hugh Cecil, Mr. E. A. Goulding (Worcester), Lord Castlereagh (Maidstone), Mr. R. A. Cooper (Walsall), Mr. H. Page Croft (Christchurch), and Mr. Thomson (North Down) immediately cried: "Traitor!" "Traitor!" Mr. Asquiih continued to faco tho House and tried to speak, but every time ■ho opened his lips ho was greeted with cries of "Traitor!" "Patrick Ford!" "We will hear Mr. Eedmond first!" Liberals counter-cheered, and other Unionists pointed to Mr. Redmond and called on him to address the House. When the rowdyism was at its height Mr. Will Crooks (Labour) shouted derisively from the Labour benches: "The British Aristocracy! Patrick O'Brien! Blue blood will Lell!" „

SUSPENDED IN DISORDER. Mr. F. E. Smith, a particularly incisive critic of tho Government, followed, but tho Ministerialists wrathfully shouted him down, until the Speaker, after ninety minutes of disorder, rose, and exercised the right vested in him in casss of grave disorder to suspend the sitting. There has been no similar suspension within living memory. Renewed demonstrations took place as members excitedly surged across the floor of tho House, and general confusion and shouting prevailed until the Chamber was cleared. PARTY LEADERS AND THE KING. AUDIENCES GRANTED. (Rec. July 23, 11.45 p.m.) London, July 21. The King postponed his departure for Goodwood, and received Mr. Balfour and Lord Lansdowne in audience, to discuss the situation. Subsequently his Majesty gave an audienco to Mr. Asquith, prior to the meeting of tho House of Commons.

EXCITED UNIONISTS. For twenty minutes Mr. Asquith continually advanced to the table and finally resumed his seat. The Speaker again and again sought to restore order. Mr. F. E. Smith, K.C., Unionist member for Walton, Liverpool, passionately declared thai the Prime Minister had degraded tho political life of the country. Lord Hugh Cecil shouted: "Asquith, you are absolutely unworthy of your position V ■ The Speaker pointed out that the Opposition was in a minority and therefore tho more concerned to maintain the freedom of discussion. He appealed to tho House to be worthy of its high traditions. Mr. Asquith's subsequent rising resulted in a pandemonium unequalled since tho Parnell episode. BLOWS IMMINENT. The House, roso to such a pitch of excitement that the exchange of blows seemed imminent.' Mr. Winston Churchill (Home Secretary) was continually throwing excited ejaculations towards tho Unionist front bench. Mr. Asquith seemed desirous of relinquishing the attempt to address tho House, but his colleagues persuaded him to continue.

Owing to unexpected developments, Mr. Balfour has postponed his city meeting. THE PARNELL INCIDENT. THE SCENE RECALLED. On February 3, 1881, when Mr. Gladstone's resolution respecting "urgency" was about to bo brought forward, Mr. Parnell rose to ask whether Mr. Michael Davitt had been arrested that day, and was informed by Sir W. V, Harcourt that the person named had been arrested for breach of the conditions of his ticket-of-lcave. The. Speaker then called upon Mr. Gladstone, who commenced his address; when Mr. Dillon (M.P. for Tipperary) interrupted, and was named by the Speaker, according to tho rule of February, 1880, for disregarding the authority of the Chair. His suspension for the sitting was then voted by 395 to 33; but Mr. Dillon declined to leave the House at the summons of the Sergeant-at-Arms, until that official had been joined by five messengers, when the member for Tipperary left, declaring that he yielded to force only. Mr. Gladstone again commenced his address, when Mr. Parnell moved "that the right honourable gentleman bo no further heard," and insisted upon his motion being put; until he was at length named by the Speaker, and suspended by 405 to 7, the Home Rule members refusing to join in the division , . Mr. Parnell was then removed, as Mr. Dillon had been before him; and Mr. Gladstone was about to Tesume what ho termed "the unfortunate- sentence that I had been bisected and trisected," when Mr. Finigan rose to move that he bo no longer heard, and was suspended after the same formalities as before. The Homo Rule members again declining to take part in tho division, after being cautioned by the Speaker, were then named as disregarding his authority, and their suspension was voted by 410 to 6. The names being read from a list furnished by one of the tellers (Lord R. Grosyenor), twenty-eight members were successively removed from the House: and Mr. Gladstone being still interrupted as before, four more members were suspended, making, with the three originally removed, a total of thirty-five. Mr. Gladstone's resolution was then proceeded with.

Finally, when Mr. Asquith was able to mako some progress, ho recited tho history of the Bill, and recalled the resolutions of February, 1910, but the statement that but for the death of Kins Edward the Bill would have been passed in 1910 aroused an instant storm of angry cries: "Leavo the King out of it!" "Who killed the King?" THE PREMIER'S DECLARATION. Thenceforth the speech was punctuated by derisivo angiy cries until Mr. Asquith angrily folded his notes and cried: "I am not going to degrade myself in attempting to address members who obviously will not listen to me. I merely declare that if the Lords will not accept the Bill, with, if they like, reasonable amendments, the Government will be compelled to invoke the Royal prerogative." Mr. Asquith then resumed his seat. The Liberals cheered enthusiastically, waving papers and hats for several minutes. MR. BALFOUR RISES. Mr. Balfour, Leader of the Opposition, who was heard in comparative silence, said he frankly regretted that Mr. Asquith had not been listened to, but tho subject could not fail to excite passion. There wero loud Unionist cheers when Mr. Balfour recalled that Mr. Churchill had been tho ringleader of the disturbance in 1905 whereby Mr. Lyttelton was kept standing at the table for an hour unable to speak. FORGING A BLANK CHEQUE. Mr Balfonr then quoted the Radical newspapers to the effect that Mr. Asquith bad secured pledges from tho lung before the "cncral elections and said if m> Mr. \<quilh had incurred censure by forging a blank cheque from the Sovereign, mid had arrogated to himself powers I hat no Republican dictator would have possessed. A Liberal member interjected, "Then you've been had!" .Mr. Balfour replied: "That ie true if the member means that it never entered my

RESTRICTIONS ON THE KING. ROYAL POWER OF TO-DAY. In view of tho audienco granted to the Opposition loaders by tho King, the following extract from an article in the "Fortnightly Rcviow". is interesting. It points out how severely tlie Kingship has been abridged, how many are tho things which the King can't do, how power has passed from tho King to the people and their elected representatives. Here are a few of tho things which the King cannot do to-day:— "The lioynl power falls under three heads, in all of which tho King is restricted, and has, for the most part, lost independent action. "(i) The choice of Ministers through whom the Royal power is exercised. Hero tho King must defer to the wish of tho House of Commons. "(•2) The determination of policy. The Council and Privy Council used to do this. Now it is in the hands of tho Cabinet. . "(3) Administrative action; the carrymg out of what is determined upon. Ineso powers have passed to various' Government Departments, such as tho Home Oihce, which act in the name of the King. "But the King exercises great influence. Ho has the right to be informed by Alimsters, and can give advice. Ho can help by experience. Professor Dicey defines the prerogative as 'the discretionary authority of the executive,' and he explains this to mean everything which the King or his servants can do without tho authority of an Act of Parliament. Prime Minister's Power, "Tho Prime Minister is the chief means of communication between the Cabinet and the Crown. He presents tho Cabinet minutes to tho King, who is entitled to be told about everything that is goins to bo done; and told in good time, so that, tho Ministry can listen to tho opinion of his Majesty. "On tho other hand, the Sovereign must not sock or toko ndriee from any other than his Cabinet Ministers in matters of State without making it known t.6 tho Cabinet. The Duke of Wellington when in Opposition wrote to William IV pointing oul. the dancer of tho arminc of political societies. William IV replied to tho letter without consulting the Cabinet, and th<> Ministry remonstrated with the Kins. "Nor shall the Sovereign give a public expression of opinion on a matter of State without boin? advised by his Minister?. The Sailor King violated this duty also by making a speech in the Privy Council reviling one of his Ministers, iind this alw led to n remonstrance. The King muft support bis Ministers loyally iu their polici , ."-