BRITAIN'S PEACE ELECTION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 46, 19 November 1918, Page 5

BRITAIN'S PEACE ELECTION

a 'j OPENING OF COALITION ! CAMPAIGN | • I THE NEW PARLIAMENT AND I NATION-BUILDING \ f . | GREAT SPEECH BY Mtf. ] LLOYD GEORGE , | ~- . ] , London, November 1". j Mr. Lloyd- George, ■. -ilr. -Bonar Law, j and Mr. J'. H. Barnes opened the elec- i t,ion campaign at a great meeting in j Westminster. , .« '! Mr. Lloyd' George raid that the new ' Parliament would he the most.imporcuiic ! ever elected. Upon it?-character do- i pended the fate of the United Kingdom, i the Empire, and, through the Empire, j the fiite of the world. Appealing for ! unity, the Premier said: "We do not j need a strong Opposition to make a good j Government, but a union of the best j brains, and the best traditions'of every i party." The situation'in Europe'waff nil j of perilous possibilities. If the new Par- ! liameut failed through lack of courage ' or the selfish interests of factions of poii-i j tieians, then oven the institutions of the j United Kingdom may be swept away. j ''Britain," he said, "has set. an example -j for generations to the rest of, the world i for steadiness of government. . Let us ! continue the example." A reference to ; the Throne evoked outbursts of cheering. • The Prime Minister said the Throne had • j won added respect, stability, and lustre ' | from the action of the occupants during, ! the war. The Government, he con- ; i tinned, must go to the Peace Conference j with the authority of the people's man.- • date. ." !

He mentioned that the recruiting sta- < tisties revealed a higher percentage of ! physical unfits in Britain than in any great belligerent country. That was a disgrace to a proud and prosperous. | country. Hundreds of thousands of men in their prime we're broken in j physique because, they were underfed, ill- ] housed, and overworked. Perhaps many j were, poisoned by excessive drinking; to , j which they had been driven by the squalor of their (surroundings.;;- There •■ must be a i;eal national effort to put this ''; right. He- urged the need for grappling ; with tho housing question and main- ! taining wages at a standard where the ! workers' strength and efficiency would ; be secured, and the mothers enabled, to ; properly discharge their : duty, in bring- , ing up their children. Attention 6uoufd j be given to developing industries and ; restoring those which had been neglected i or crippled by unfair competition. These ' were problems which .required thorough j and systematic courageous treatment by ! patriots, not partisans. He declared that : Labour's withdrawal from' the Coalition j Government at a time of national recon- ; structioli vitajly affecting Labour was the : height of folly. ; Mr. Bonar Law said: "We who advo- ; catcd tariff refonn as part of the issue >. realise that the-war has changed the j whole aspect of these problems." We ; stood, he said, shoulder to shoulder with i our Allies in the war, and we must i stand shoulder to shoulder with them in ' repairing the ravages of war. ! Mr. Barnes 6aid he regretted the sever- ' '■■ anco of tho Labour Party. He was con- j vinced he could serve Labour best by . ■ staying in the Government till the > country had reached industrial peace.— i Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. j

THE COALITION BASIS

1 London, November 17. ' Mr. Lloyd George's letter to Mr.' Bonar j Law outlining the basis of an appeal to j tho country for the. continuance of tho Coalition Government, which Mr: Bonar : Law read at a private meeting of Union- | ist members on Tuesday, has now been , published. Tho. letter states: "If a general elec- , lion is to bo held it ought to be.a coali- ! lion election, asking the country to re- l turn the supporters of the present Gov- | eminent to negotiate peace, a'lid also to • j deal with the reconstruction problems, , which are hardlv less pressing than tltt ; war problems, and also require, hardly ; less drastic action. These cannot be | dealt with.on party lines without dis- I aster. Also the national unity which ; mado victory possible should bo mam- .! tained until the foundations of national j and international reconstruction are | securolv laid. My fundamental'object is ". to promote the unity and development ( of the nations composing the British , Umpire, preserving their position, in- . fhience, and authority in the worlds i affairs which have been gamed by their ; sacrifices' and efforts in the cause of' j human liberty and progress. , "I have already accepted the _ policy ; of Imperial preference defined in the j Imperial Conference's resolutions—that- ; preference be given on existing duties,, i and also on anv. duties subsequently- mlposed. That policy does not include a v. tax on food,, and does not exclude pre- ; ference on articles like tea and coffee, upon which duties are already imposed. : Great Britain's agricultural position . must bo improved in many directions, ; particularly in transport. Security must j bo given against unfair industrial com- , petition, especially in dumping.; goods j below the cost of production. I do not i support tho settlement of Home Rule i for Ireland by imposing coercion on , Ulster. I claim the right to bring in , a Homo Rule Bill" excluding the six j northern counties, but smell settlement ; must bo postponed, ns it could not sue- ■, ceed in tho present condition of Ireland. ; T do not think thero is any desire-any- j where for the repeal of the Welsh Dis- J establishment Bill, but the war created j financial difficulties. I cannot offer any \ definite solution now, but I believe a , financial solution is not impossible. - j Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. , ' • j

WOMEN'S RIGHT OF ELECTION | NOW UW I

London, November, IG. i In tho House of Lords the, Bill on- j abling women to sit in Parliament was finally passed. Lord Haldano s amend- , ment' permitting peeresses to sit in the j House of Lords in their own right Sva, , rejected by 33 votes to H.-Aus.-N.Z. , Cable Assn. .. . i