NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1624, 16 December 1912, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

" The British Chancellor of the Exchequer is having at least this success in his crusade against those men who arc wicked enough to own land; that ho is spurring his opponents into playing his game of keeping up the bitterness. On Saturday a cable message reported that a number of Unionists have decided to retaliate with an inquiry' into the administration of the property of Ministers of the Crown and other wealthy Radicals. It is easy to understand the resentment aroused by the secret corps of sp_3—the Sneaks' Committee, as the Saturday Review calls it—which Hit. Lloyd George has established under the title of the Land Inquiry Committee. This Committee will send out secret agents with a long series of questions concerning the private business and character of landowners. The names of the inquirers will not be published, nor the answers which they will get from the gossips whom they will secretly interview. The whole thing was to be secret, but it somehow got out, and The Times printed an epitome of the questions which the agents are to ask. The drift of the "inquiry" can be seen from this sample question: "Do the landlords in your district take an active interest in the agricultural and social welfare of its inhabitants 1" As the spies will know what answers Mb. Lloyd George will like, we can guess whalt sort of answers they will take care to get. It was pointed out that landowners may be, and doubtless will be, vigorously slandered in this secret proceeding. Nobody would object to a Royal Commission, but no Englishman who is honest will like the method chosen by the Chancellor. The counter-move of the Unionists is very natural, and it may help to emphasise the injustice and indecency of singling out one class for persecution. Mr. Lloyd Geohqe is very careful for his millionaire Radical rnanufacturers.