THE NEW UNIONIST LEADER.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1324, 30 December 1911, Page 9

THE NEW UNIONIST LEADER.

__ j . FIRST SPEECH AT LEEDS. 5000 , UNIONISTS CHEER HIM. At (he Carlton Club on November 13 Mr. Bona]• Laiv was unanimously chosen by over 220 members of the Unionist party to bo their new lender in the House of Commons in succession to, Mr. Balfour. Subsequently in tho Houso of Commons Liberals as well as Unionists gave- a cordial welcgnio to Mr. Bonar Law, when just after half-past three ho entered tho House, and, walking along by the Opposition front bench took ; he place occupied for so many years by Mr. Balfour. It was an enthusiastic acclamation from the Unionists; and from the Ministerialists the chivalrous salutation of lighters who recognised a-coiuiiiiui'ler worthy of their steel. Mr. Asquith also sent a note of congratulation. At Leeds.on Thursday night, November 10, Mr. Bonar La.v received another enthusiastic welcome from MOO Unionists assembled in thn Coliseum music-hall to listen to his first speech.as leader ,of tho party. When be appeared on the-plat-form tho audience rose and shouted and waved agenda papers with great fervour.; Mr. Bonar Law thanked the meeting; for its warm reception.' He had always felt an admiration not only for the towering intellect but for the character of. Mr. Balfour. "]t lias been said in the limlicol press that, the message sent to Mr. Balfour by the Unionist members did not contain an invitntio.i to return. Let there be n.) misunderstanding; the leader know 1 for. absolute certainty that he could not reconsider his decisbn, and that'was the sole reason why we did not urge our eld leader to return. (Cheers,) Mr;' Balfour. "I see also the kindly suggestion that when. Mr. Balfour returns to 'he House and assert.;, as he will assert, his old supremacy over tho Assembly,- it will be awkward for mo. (Laughter.) Do not imagine that such a thought ever entered my mind. Whatevsr my weaknesses may be, jealousy is not one of them—(cheers)— and jeabusy on my part towards \Mr, Balfour would be lie will, I believe, play no small part in securing' the victory which will again be ours, (Cheers.) I have seen Lord Lalisdowne, (he leader of our party in tho House of Lords, and I can assure you (hat no ono will work with him mere heartily or moro willingly than I."

Ho referred to the self-sacrifice of Mr; Austen Chamberlain and Mr. Walter Long, and to tho wolconio ho had received from his opponents. The Radical press had advised him "not to bo so rudo in the Houso of Commons in the future as he had been in the past.'' (Laughter.) It was possibly good advice. (Laughter.) Ho should at least rcincinlxr it. lint in (he severe, and ho was afraid bitter, light.that lay before them for'everything which they held dear, .he had really no hope of acting in such a way as (o satisfy the giver of that advice, (Loud cheers.)

Unionist Proorammc, Ii anyone suppose! that because a ueT Unionist Leader of tho House of Commons had been elected there was going to- bo a new programme, ho was going to bo disappointed. ("Hear, hear.") Ho. did not bulic.ro in elaborate, still loss iu varying, programmes. ("Hear,' hear.'.') They had lirst to get rid of the Government, which from tho beginning had been a danger, and now was tearing down tho destructive patl. with ever-increasing rapidity. ("Hear, lpar.") Unionists wonld face now conditions by - canservatire methods. (Cheers.) "But no Government of which I ov my colleagues aro members would bo a Government purely of reaction."

The Unionist party would resist Welsh' Disestablishment, which had nothing .even to. explain..it except prejudice and bigotry. (Cheers.) The keynote of Radical policy is that they are dominated'by a small 'faction which is far larger than it ought to lw in* proportion lo its representation. ("Hear, hour.") It is due to that domination that the Insurance Bill is passing mechanically through tho ..Houso of Commons,without proper 'discussion. "Tho vital interests of ''these islands are Wing sacrificed to clear the lino for the Home Kule express. hear," and "Shame.") It is also .duo to, the necessity tho Government felt of re-' taining the Irish vote at all costs. It is due to that—iu my belief to that that the conference last rear was not ear- . ried to a successful issue, ("near, hoar.") Mr. Bonar Law criticised tho action of tho Government in destroying, not as they had promised reforming, the Uou.se of Lords, "but the head of the Government gave them no alternative." (Laughter and cheers.) Mr. Redmond know as well as Mr. Asquitb lhat if Home . Ttulo were submitted to tho people tho answer would bo the samo as twice before. (Cheers.) That was whv the Constitution had been suspended. He repudiated 1h» Government's claim that.they received a mandate for Home It'iic. Not tho Parti' of the Rich. . "I should like to speak to you now on the social condition of tho pcoplo with! special reference to Tariff Reform. (Loud, and prolonged cheers.) The. greatest enemy of the democracy has always been tho demagogue. (Cheers.) How easy it is to represent us as (ho party of privilege and class nud as (be parly of - thfl rich. We are not the party of privilege. It is our aim to bo the party not of a - class, but of the nation."

The working classes thought they wer» entitled to a lartror share of the prowls of industry. Two causes had accentuated that feeling. One was Iho Budget enmnaign of hvo years aero, which induced the poor to believe that the pacing of the Budget would bo for them the beeinnine of the golden asc.- The Budget passed, and the outbreak last August was simply the rimmed fruit of the seed sown two 'years ago; (Cheers.) ; There was another cause. _ During the !a«t leu years the cost of living has cone, up almost len per ecu I:, and wages barn remained stationary.* "Si far as T can judre, -ill classes, including omViloyers. would like the working classes to have ns lar*c a share of industry as isooropiifihle. with the snoees.s of that industry." (Cheers.) The Attack ou Capltalf. ' One method adopted by (he Government, was to take from (he rich in taxes and give it tu the poor in do'.os. But if you attacked e?.ii' i ol i< v \vs apt to fly. Again, despite good trade, (here had been. n steady and enormous emigration from <iur shores. "It the m«n at (lie liend of the Government sneak of those, who have accumulated wealth as if they wcro outcasts, treat them ns if 'hey were IwaMs of prey to be shot at sight—("hear, hear";—well, you will injure far wore vitally the man whose only capital is his sk'H and his i';diiitry.

"The greatest of all possible social reforms would he lo raise the standard, of wages throughout lliir country." T'lTcar. hear."), 'l.'hoy did not protend that -. n change in our fiscal system would euro all ceils, hut- such a change would do much to help what was the greatest of all our social evils, chronic unemployment. .(Cheers.) Without .some change, in our fiscal syslem a general rise in wages was absolutely imnossible. (Cheors.l

Mr. Lloyd-fleoree, when studying what, hud hannonod in Oonnany. missed the one lesson of Gorman experience. Prince liismnrok first changed the fiscal syslem liefore I'iyine his insurance scheme. ("Hear, hoar."*: \\'o should have done Iho sumo. (Cheers.)

Canadian Landmark. Dealing willi the Canadian clodion», Mr. Law said lie believed (hoy would prove u landmark in lite- history nf || u , world. ; Cheer*.) A Omnium' friend, had made Iho remark, "\Y<> hove done our |uirt: il is up l» Iho olil Count nnow," "II is up In (ho (.Mil Counirv'' exclaimed Mr. .Law; "wo have thrown away many opportunities. Wo shall have one.other op]>flrtunit,v-ono nnlv—and at tlio uoxl election 1. am satisfied tlml wo shall linl (nrow il away." ■ .(ClioorO 110 was liurii in Canada.; that was an advantage to him i,i his now ])o:.iii;m Per twoul.v-fivo years the delonniiiatinn in inaiulain Iho integrity of the I'liii.-ij Kingdom had given a name lo (ho parly. "II is for us to maintain, and wo shall maintain, a United Kingdom im \ a muted Empire. It. is for us lo tnnintain, and wo shall niaiiilai.n. in spite of the lowerim: clontl which threatens us, the integrity of the United Kingdom. II: is for Urn men of this Reiteration to create the .vital Union of the British Pmpirc." 'Loud and pro. longed ..checrinc, the whole utidieuoa wins aud - waving hatg and haudker.