THE BRITISH ELECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 97, 18 January 1919, Page 8

THE BRITISH ELECTIONS

Sir,—Allow me to express my appreciation of tho excellent letter from "Lower Hutt" in your' issue of this morning (January 16) on the British General Election.'' Ido not think too much importance ' can be attached to the result of these,- elections. The Coalition Government succeeded m securing over five hundred suppovters in a House of seven hundred. This was a great tribute to the personality, ot Mr. Lloyd George, and to the "win-the-war" party, : who were bent upon imposing upon Germany adequate punishment and extracting from her such indemnities as would mako it impos-' sible for that country to bring about another world war.

I have read a good many effusions in the Press concerning the attitude of various parties to 1 the Coalition. Government of Great Britain. . One of the most notable was tliat made by the Rev. Dr. Gibb in" your paper about the middle of December. It was, quite prophetic, and it was made at least a fortnight before the issue of. the elections, was made known. The rev. doctor was animadverting upon the crushing of Germany and the removal of tho temptations' to fight being tiiken'away from all military nations, and, lie said, that unless this were provided for "wo shall find that Armageddon has not yet been fought; that another and even more dreadful war lies before us in the not distant future." - But the rev., doctor pointed out that" the mood of the Coalition Government in insisting upon indemnities and adequate reparation "would not obsess the British people as a whole." And, lie said, "tho leaders of the Free Churches of England are now lighting ' hard against the Coalition Government :ind its professed aims." This wastlie essence of the reverend doctor's prophecy, and lie said lie would be great-' ly surprised if tho lighting hard against the Coalition Government and its professed,; aims did not result in the. crushing defeat of that Government. The doctor got his surprise! It is, however, dangerous to prophesy unless you know, and Dr. Gibb's prophetic utterance has not been borne onL by tho result of the election. In Scotland every man who had any regard for the "wait-and-see" policy, or who was philandering with proGennan tendencies, or was tainted with pacifist or other petty party leanings, were nil committed to the political midden. That was how tho people of Scotland showed their faith in the Coalition Government. and its .'.warlike ideals. With but few instances to the contrary Scotland was loyal to Mr. Lloyd George. . . . .

In Wales the same thing took pboßw For example, Mr. Lief Jones, the pr» sident of the United Kingdom Alliance, who .was continually badgering Mr. Lloyd George during the, war, and all those who held political views as Mr. Lief. Jones, received their conge by the electors of Scotland and of Wales, who are largely composed of members of the Free Churches.

The Rev. Dr. Gibb also spoke about a concordat being established between the, Free Churches and the Socialists. Hut what happened in the British general election to those people who were imbued with that ideal? Tho Socialists of Blackburn rejected Mr. Philip Snowdcn, the Socialist, and the Methodist Labourites sent Mr. Arthur Henderson to the political wall. Tbero can be no concordat between Free Church' members- and the Socialists; Socialism and church life can form no concordat. The one is . conservative and the other is destructive.

Dr. Gibb said the portent of Socialism cannot be disregarded. That- is true; but it must be destroyed, otherwise the lives of free people—not to speak of "Free Churches under Socialism—would be intolerable. ' Does the doctor desire the patronage of Bolshevism in New Zealand?

But the great and outstanding feature of the British elections has been that nil the "cold-footed" candidates of the, pacifist and pro-German-:class of politicians, and all those, who would treat Germany in a kid-glove fashion, have been rejected by the widened and enlightened democracy of Great' Britain—l am., etc., •. • J. D. SIKVWRIGHT.

TWe can find no reference in. Dr. Gibb's letter to'a ".crushing defeat of the' Government." His works '•••pi-V-v. follow:—"It is no surpriseiio find, as reported by you. a. day or two ago, that the leaders of the Free- Churches of •England—who were almost-to'.a-.man whole-hearted in their- support of the war against Germany—are now fighting hard against the Coalition Government and its nrofessed aims. And though we have been hearing.little of it in the Press I shall be greatly surprised if, the manual toilers, the men and women of Britain, do not insistently demand that- the supreme consideration at the Peace Conference shall, be not even thr- punishment of. the., German rulers; though they merit .the due reword of their deeds: not- the exaction of indemnities from the German _ nation, linv the casting of them for a time outside the comitv of Europe, but the tuMishmont. of such international rela-tions-whether. by means of- a Leacuo of Nations or otherwise-as shall secure an- endurir«s peace; and wake, it Ooa will; this world a world without war. Everything, I submit, sinks into utter insignificance beside, this. aim.J

Sir,-As I lmd the pleasure of listenin" to the maiden address of Mr. Robert Munro. IC.C., M.P., Secretary for Scotland, during tho famous Budget campaign, I am, of course, , familiar with the'record ol : the several Highland M.P.'s involved. . Sir Alpheus Clcophas Morton, for many years Liberal member for Sutherlandshire was content to retire with a knighthood) hut Sir Robert L.. Harmswoith (a brother of Lord Northchffe, please remember), similarly..honoured recently, did not consider'this sufficient leconipenso for also retiring to London, and sought the nomination for the combined Sutherlandshire-Caithness seat. The Northern Burghs were also eliminated (this seat extends through both shires), and Mr. Jlum'o. nUboiißli an illustrious momber of the Llojd Woige Government and a Highlander whose parents hailed from tho counties already mentioned, gave. way. point I wish to make is that onpnueuts of Mr. Asquith have never failed to point out that Mr. Lloyd George was justified in shelving a vetaan statesman regarded as has J' e , c " by the Northchffe. gang, but where political expediency is .involved no fault is found us to giving pre erence to a member of the calibre of S i Robert Harmswortfi, as against the brilliant Secretary _ for Scotland Thus "T?,e John o' Groat Journal (Coalitionist sind Unionist) on the subject: —"Mr. Munro's reply to the requisition recently' addressed to him by Liberals in Wick, Caithness county, and Dornoch, to como forward as a candi-. date for tho..Combined Counties, is printed elsewhere in the paper to-day. For tho reasons which he gives, he regrets ho cannot seo his way to 1 accede to'tho (lesiro so ably and expressed in the requisition. Much as ho would have liked to have been in tho position to give a response in the affirmative, and many as are the claims ho undoubtedly has upon the constituency lie finds himself unable to make himself a party, particularly at a time lilto this, to tho exhibition of two supporters of tho same Government fighting each other for the same seat. There is undoubtedly a widespread feeling that Sir R, L. Harmsworth ought to have retired on this occasion, and so strong would that feeling presently become had Mr..Munro decide!otheiwise 'than lie has done that m ,all probability the new Baronet would ha\e considered' discretion the better .part of valour. Ho would have . folded his tent like the Arab" and as silently stolen away. -The.pecubar and unsatisfactory manner in which' the 13qronet's friends manipulated matters to get him 'adopted'' has become evident to the whole, public. And , ri v ' a ' ev ?n may now take place; the. cleavage ni the Liberal ranks concerning him will remain." i. ' ■ Sir Robert Harmsworth. as a member- of Parliament, is referred to by "Strathspey Herald" in anything :but complimentary terms, as per a clipping I enclose.-! am, etc. A c HoLMg^ Feathers ton, January 11, 1919.