THE BRITISH EMPIRE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 192, 9 May 1919, Page 8

THE BRITISH EMPIRE

|J?. Lloyd George, ' ■ ; ■" There'is'nV more dramatic chapter in ■ our political annals than the career of ' toe "little Welsh attorney" who became ■Prime Minister at tho height of the greatest storm which ever 'broke over this country. Strife seemed,to be wovauuuu ~ the very etfiff 'pi hie being. Ho was only ■ 27-years in 1890'46'fought' .a - fierce by-election at Boroughs. It.was'St.i.tha't'time a Conservative'seat, but the -young Liberal'sucoeoded in capturing it by'the narrow margin of 18 ■■'. . votes.■ •• In the House of Commons v he found his natural arena. Hβ soon came into'prominence a3-a fiery'advocate'of : various causes dear to the hearts' of Welsh Nonconformists, It was not; however, until the - outbreak of the' South • Afrioan.-War. that he booamo a really . national! figure.;, He tookup a line , of re- , eolute opposition to' the war, and-attack-ed the Government, both in the House . and ia the country,,with a bitter invective which.' : wae fleroely resented. Up to 1905 Mir.- Lloyd George had been no more than a fearless debater, a destructive ■- critic, and an impassioned orator. But at the end of that year Sir Henry. Camp-. beH-Bannennan, summoned to form a ■Government, gave him his first chance of constructive statesmanship by oppointing ■ Mm. President of the.Board of Trade, without the customary period of apprenticeship in one of the minor offices of „• State. Hβ brilliantly justified the choice of his chief, and when Mr; Aennith be- : came Prime Minister in 1908 Mr. Lloyd : Georee succeeded him as Chancojlor of i the Exchequer, with tho enthusiastic ap- [ • prov-al of his party. Eβ'revived the wan- ■ mg fortunes of the Liberals by a Budget ; based on suoh novel principles'of taxa- | tion- that the House of LoMa'Tejected'it. ;' ,Tho general election which immediately j followed was, a • triumph primarily lor I Mr. Lloyd George, and ho made his Bud- ;,.. get seoura. His next Wg esaay, the-Na-i tional Insurance Act, was riot so popu- ! lar. Mr. Lloyd George had been Chanoellor of tho.Exchequer over ax years ; when the European war cloud suddenly I burst. By general consent, the prompt i measuro3 which !he took at tho Treasury j. enabled the fabrio of British oredit to 'y stand the unaxnected shock-successfully. ; ' .When-early in 1915 it was found'that thb j supply of munitions was'utterly inade- | cpiate, he threw all hie energies into the > task ?f retrieving the position.-. Next : year, when his pioneer work is Minister I of Munitions had been accomplished, ho ; Buoceoded Lord Kitchener as Secretary of '■. State for War.-At the.end of 1916 how- !. erer,;.me became eo dissatisfied-with the !; conduct !of the 'war' that he dent in hia .;.. resignation, Mr. Asqnith left office; and i •Mγ. Lloyd George became Prime Hiniater ! «t the darkest hour of our national for- !■ tunes.' Hβ infused new yinrar into.the ; eifiantio-.offort.of the.Empire, andestab- ■ lished.that'-unity of command whiohcon- ; ■ Wbuted. l 'a3,'much,.as,,anyVfactor;, l to'-.the |. final'triumph.of,,cur arms,, And w.hen ; < hostilities peased arid a general • election i [was held, the' statesman who had ,wea- : . ■ ffliered the storm .was confirmed in power ■ by tho most overwhelming vote.of confiI denco.in o,ur : history. : .•.'[-,'■

; ' Mr. Balfour, I For over a craarter of a century Mr. i ; Balfour has been one of Iho most disi ' tingniehed figures ,in English publio Me. In 1878 he went to the. Congress of Berlin as. prirato secretary to his unclei I . Lord Salisbury,. To-day ho is represent- .... ing hie country as Ebreign. Secretary, at ■ toe ago of 70 yeara, .at the oven •more [ jnomentouß : .Ocmfereno9 in Paris, >He en- ; .tercel the. J House,,of .Commons Vin 1874, : end his great chance came in 1887, when ! he to. appointed Chief Secretary for j Ireland, when, the passions cioited by tho ■■■'■ rejection of tho Iret Home Eule Bill : .were, at .flnrfr height.'... Ireland ..oould ■ only be ruled at that ttmo'by a polioy : of coOTcfon, and Mr, Balfour was re- ; eponable for four - years of ; resolute i gOTemmeat whioh have never been for- : gotten.! -In.. 1891' Mr."Balfour ■■■became ;■■ 'wader.of;the,Houso.of Commons,...and, I Btter a qhort-interval in Opposition," he : ■• was. again called to ■ the ■ i-hiof- , ' place' on ;■ ■ the Treasury Bench. For ten stormy ; yeaK, .which included tho -period of "the i South African War, hie personal ascen- ! uanoy over the Jlouao was unquestionrv. ed..; Wlon'ho/iras.oalled to the Premierj ship on tho retirement of Lord Saliai bury in 1902 troubles' begaiV-to thioken i aiound-'him:' It required''all his'man- ; agement and skill to keep his party --to- ; gethor during < tho tariff reform agita- : non, but ho'held on his'course for over '■ threo years-before cutting (ho knot'by i resignation. .During tho long period of ; Liberal rule which , followed, Iff. Bali four acted Header of the ! Opposition, liamj-id over : tho -reins -touVliv Bonar 'Law>' 'His active political career seemed to have oomo to an end. But in 'the unexampled omerj gency created-by the war he returned i to office as- : Firat'Lord of the Admiralty ! t in Mr. Asquith's Coalition Government, I ■ and exercised a steadying influence over one of the most vital of the' War Departments at a,Tory critical-period. On the I formation of the second Coalition Gor- ; .; eminent Mr. Balfour becarao Foreign ! Secretary. Hie mission to America and ;■ his speeohes"and dispatches on tho many ;' difficult and i /delicate problems,-, which ; . "rose for solution during the' closing } phases' of tho war. have earned for him I a distinguished place among the masters ' of the,diplomatic art, " '.''

Mr. Bonar Law. .It was only in 1909 that Mr. Bonar Law yas first elected to Parliament, and he is essentially a political product of the • twentieth century, Ho is the business man in politics.: No man in our time . has obtained a commanding position in the State so rapidly as Mr. Bonar Law. Within eleven years of his entering Parliament he-.became leader of the Opposition, and at the end of another five ;•■ years ho was lender of the , House. • Born in Canada- sixty years, ago, ho becanio a \ successful iron merchant in Glasgow, ; and it was his first-hand knowledge of ■ ' modern commerce- that enabled him to ',' gain the' ear of thu Houso when, soon after his election, tho tariff ■■cfonu coni troyersy orose. During the period .of Unionist Opposition which began in 1806, Mr. Bonar Law was one of the few good debaters under Mr. B.ilfour's leaderfillip. Still, , few were prepared for- Li? elevation to tho leadership of !he party in the House of Commons upon Mr. Balfour's retirement. AVhen tho war came : he proclaimed a party truce, to which he : and his followers scrupulously adhered. ; When the truce was replaced by.a for- ■ mal Coalition, Mr. Boiiiir Law became 1 Colonial Secretary, and was probably the ; least criticised Minister in that combin- ! ation. Finally, at tho end of 191G, he I joined Mr. Lloyd George's Ministry in ! the three-fold capacity of member of the ; War Cabinet, Chancellor of the Exche- ; quer, and Leader of the House of Com- ! mons. The two largest Budgets in our i financial history stand to his credit, and I their incidence was generally regarded i as so fair and well-balanced that he rc- • cured the passing of both through the ; House of Commons without the slightest i difficulty. He proved, too, a successful •' leader of n rather restless and suspicious [House. Since the'general election Mr. Bonar Law lias'ceased to be Chancellor I of the Exeheuuer, and has taken the sino- ' cure office of Lord Privy Seal. . ; Mr. Barnes. ■ 6 ■ Labour has,had no more fearless and i hard-working servant than Mr. Barnes. ! 'laft 1 fn«t"l'ame itite p'raMiiljeiice-,fiS''gen--1 ■;Wrse¥re£!iry of the.'AiS'E, "during the ! ■ r k-o'rnjy" i day3- of the , great lock-out , in i "1897:-Hβ entered Parliament forGlas- ; , gow in 1908 byVdefoating Mr. Bmiar Law, ! his present colleague in'the War Cabi ioet. He soon won tho respect of the < of, Opmmong by Hβ unmietakftWe

integrity, and its interest by his wide knowledge of labour conditions and Ins native shrewdness in speech and counsel. In successive Parliaments he was one of the acknowledged leaders of the labour Party, and there was some surprise when he was not included among the Labour Ministers who joined the first Coalition Government in 1915. His euppojt of the national cause had ■• been whole-hearted' from the beginning, and Mr. Lloyd 'Georgj appointed him first Minister of Pensions when he formed the second Coalition Government with an increased representation of Labour. Upon Mr. Henderson's engaging in the unhappy Stockholm affair, Mr. Barnes took Us place as member .of Hie Avar Cabinet without portfolio. For nearly two years he ha 3 represented Labour in the ugliest council of the State. The emphatic endorsement of his'attitude by-a great working-class constituency-in Glasgow at the general election has afforded him the opportunity of completing his-task at the Peace Conference. 'Mr. Barnes is in. hie seventieth year. . CANADA Sir Robert Borden. Sir Robert .laird Borden, Prime Minister of Canada and Secretary of State for External Affairs, is a barrister, who practised in Halifax, took silk in 1900, and was elected to the Cepadiair House of Commons in 1836. There lie led the Opposition from 1901 to 1911, when he defeated Sir Wilfrid Laurier at the general election, which turned on the issue of reciprocity'with the United States. SiiEobert Borden has borne the chiet sharo of the burden of directing Canadian ' affaire throughout the war. He has shown conspicuous; ability and courage, combined with the power of- weighimr a. question,well before coming to a decision on it. His political wisdom and moderation were ehown by his persistent efforts, in the face of every kind of discouragement, to bring about a co: •alition with tho pro-conscription Liberals. Everyone thought that he would fail, but lie succeeded nevertheless. .Sir -Robert Borden has been a convinced believer in the value of tho Imperial war Cabinet, and has frequently etated his view that it is the nucleus of future Imperial developments. ./ '

Sir George Foster. Sir George B. Foster is a Canadian by birth, and has had a long and distinguished career in Canadian politics. When Sir Robert Borden won the election of 1911, Sir George Foster became Minister of Trade and Commerce, and he holds the same portfolio in the present Government. Mr. Doherty. > Mr. Charles Joseph Doherty, a Canadian barrister, who.was a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec from 1891 to 1906, entered Canadian as a member of the House of Commons in 1908, and was appointed Minister of Justice by Sir Eobert .Borden when the Conservative Cabinet was formed after the election of 1911.-

NEWFOUNDLAND Sir William Lloyd. ■ Sir William Frederick Lloyd, Prime .Minister of Newfoundland, was born in England, • where he was at one time a schoolmaster. He became Prime Ministor of. Newfoundland'last year.. He has no permanent seat on the Peace Conference, but was the first dominion representative to attend it under tho panel system at its first formal meeting. AUSTRALIA ; Mr. Huphes. William Morris Hughes, Prime Minister of the Australian Commonwealth, nas born in London, the son of Welsh parents. He entered State politics as' a member of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales in 1891, and retained his seat till 1801, when he was elected to the first House of Bepresentativesof the Commonwealth of Australia. The leader : of the Australian Labour Party at that time was ll.r. Andrew Fisher, and Mr. Hughes speedily established himself as Mr. Fisher's right-hand man in "Parliament. Meanwhile Mr. Hughes had been called to the Bar, and it was as Attorney-General, in Mr. Fisher s Cabinets ■ that ho finally established his claim to the succession. Thus, when Mr. Fisher resigned in 1915 Mr. Hughes succeeded him as Prime Minister. Mr. Hughes has had a difficult- course to stoei. Twice he submitted tho question of conscription to a referendum, ■ and twice he was defeated. After o. breach with' the extreme section of his own party ho formed a Coalition with the Liberals, led by Mr., now Sir Joseph, Cook. Mr. Hugho3 was prevented from attending the Imperial War Cabinet of 1917 by the unsettled state of Australian politics, but he came to England to represent the Commonwealth at tho Imperial War Cabinet in 1918, and has remained in London since. Sir Joseph Cook. Sir Joseph Cook, Minister for the Navy of tho Australian Commonwealth, who was born in England, has been a member of the Australian House of .Representatives since 1901. He became Prime Minister of the Commonwealth in 1913, and was still in office when tho waibroke out. Thus it fell to him to direct tho early participation of Ids Dominion in the war, and this he did with the utmost enthusiasm from tho moment when, immediately after war broke out, he placed'the Australian squadron at tho disposal of tho British Admiralty. Sir Joseph Cook was defeated by the Labour Party under Mr. Fisher at the general election held in September, 1914 After tho defeat of conscription «t tho first referendum, he joined Mr. HugV-es in a Coalition Ministry, and has been nnsworv. ingly loyal-to tho , political compact then, made. • j

NEW ZEALAND Mr. Massey. Mr. William Ferguson Massey, Prime Minister of New Zealand, an TJlsterman by birth, who has achieved success e.e a farmer in New Zealand, led the Conservative Party before the war, and was in office as Prime Minister when the rar broke out, an event w'hich ho anticipated by the oft'er of a division to , the . Imperial Government. New Zealand, too, was represented at the outbreak of wai' by the warship New Zealand, which she had presented to the British Fleet. Mr. Massey had taken office as Prime Minister in 1912, but in 1915 it became clear that a coalition with the Liberal Party, led by Sir Joseph Ward, was desirable. It waa formed, both parties showing a disposition to make personal sacrifices in the national cause. It has subsisted ever since, and tho Ministry which presides over it is called the National Ministry. Mr. Massey camo to this country to attend the Imperial War Cabinets of 1917 and 1918, and had barely returned from tho latter when he was summoned again to represent his Dominion afc tho Peace Conference. Sir Joseph Ward.

Sir 1 Joseph Ward has had a long and distinguished career . in New Zealand politics. Ho is leader of _ the Liberal Party, has been Prime Minister, and he represented New Zealand at the Imperial Conferences of 1907 and 1911. In 1909 he was a member of the conforence_ of Imperial and Dominion reoxesentatiTea on

naval and military defence. At that ton- j ference the Australian policy of establishing an Australian naval unit took shape, but Sir Joseph-Ward, on behalf of NewZealand, would have none <5f it for his Dominion, and insisted on § the maintenance of the policy of contribution to tho British Navy. In 1915 Sir Joseph Ward joined Mr. Massey as the joint head of the National Ministry, with the portfolio of Finance. With Mr. Massey he represented his Dominion at the Imperial War Cabinets of 1917 and 1918. SOUTH AFRICA General Botha. General ■ Louis Botha, Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, was born at Vryheid, South Africa, and was a member of .the first Volksraad of the South African Kepiiblic. Durins the Boer AVar General Botha succeeded General Joubert as commander-in-chief of the B.oer forces. When responsible government was granted to the Transvaal in 1907 General Botha became the fitst Prime Minister, a position which he<-held until the Transvaal became a part of the Union, in 1910, when he wne chosen as the first Prime Minister of tho Union of South Africa. AVhen war broke out Genoral Botha threw the whole force of his Government into the scale in the cause of Great Britain. He at once undertook to reduce the German colony of SouthAVest Africa, an undertaking which he carried out in person as commander-in-chief of the forces which overran the German colony. ■ First, however, General Botha hnd to subdue a rebellion within the Union. This he did with, cbnspicuous ability and efficiency. General Botha has represented, first, the Transvaal, and then the Union of .South Africa, at Imperial Conferences. Ho has upheld tho cause of the Empire In South Africa with' eteady resolution in political circumstances of unusual difficulty, and at some cost to his health. General Smuts, General Jan Smuts is a South African by birth, and he received his early education at Stellenbosch, in the Cape Province. Though when the Boer Avar broke out he was still a very young man, In had already a great reputation among the South African Dutch, and this was confirmed and extended by his conspicuous services to their cause during ■ the war. Among them was a brilliant raid into Cape Colony during the latter part of the campaign, so that when peace was made in 1902 General Smuts was established with General Botha as one of the two recognised leaders of the Transvaal Dutch. This combination has continued ever since, and General Smuts has been the right hand of General Botha in office—brilliant in intellect, untiring in work, remorselessly eificient in administration. In. the campaign in German South-AVest Africa General Smuts commanded tho column invading-the colony from the south, taking risks which were brilliantly justified by results. In 1916 he took' command of the British forces operating in German East Africa and organised the campaign which annihilated the German power and reduced von Lettow Vorbeck to the condition of a fugitive, from which he never recovered, though he avoided capture to the end. Then General Smuts caino to England to represent South Africa at the Imperial War Cabinet of 1917, nnd a remained as a permanent member of it till after the recent general , elections. INDIA

Mr. Montagu, Edwin Samuel Montagu was appointed Undersecretary to India in 1910, and his first Budget speech a few months Uater marked him out for political promotion, and there was no surprise when he entered the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy early in 1915. In the first Coalition Government he was Minister of Munitions, but retired with other friends of Mr, Asqnith when Mr. Lloyd George came into power. In the summer of titiy Mr. Austen Chamberlain resigned the Indian Secretaryship, and Mr. Montagu was selected for tho vacancy. He it was, therefore, who wa9 spokesman of tlie famous "Pronouncement" of August 20, and a few months later he proceeded to India to investigate the political situation in association with tho Viceroy.

Their famous joint Report on Indian constitutional reforms was issued last July, and further investigations are in progress in pursuance of its recommendations, with a view to the gradual development of self-governing institutions. Maharajah of Bikaner. Major-General H. H. Maharajah Sir Gatuga Singh Bahadur of Bikaner, G.C.5.1., G.C.V.0., G.C.1.8., K.C.8., A.D.C. to the King, belongs to the great warrior clan of Kathore Bajputs, and is descended from tlie ancient Kings of Kanauj. He has exceptional qualifications, both personal and hereditary, to represent his order. His long record of war eervice began with the expedition for the relief of the Legations at Peking, in which he commanded his famous Camel Corps. During the war jhe-served both in Trance and Egypt, and in tho latter country and in Palestine the Camel Corps won fresh laurels in many a battle. When the Maharajah came here in 1917 as the first Indian Prince to be delegated to tho.. Imperial War Conference and Cabinet, his speeches on Indian progress and reform made a great impression. Hβ could not be spawd 'rdm recruiting and- other work in India for the'second War Conference and Cabinet, but his selection for the present historic gatherings in Paris was most heartily approved by Indian opinion. Lord Sinha, lord Sinha, K.C., will go down to history as representing in. bis own person more fully than any contemporary Indian the progress of his country towards the -ultimate goal of eelf-government within the Empire. The romance of his advancement from the obscurity of an Indian village homo is scarcely less remarkable than that of our own Prime Minister. He came to England to study for-the Bar, at Lincoln's Inn 58 years ago, after secret preparation, owing to tho'strong prejudice .then prevailing in Bengal against foreign travel. Ho was the first Indian to bo apointed permanent Advocate-General of Bengal, and to become, just under ten years .'go, amemoer of the Viceroy's Executive Council, flo is the first Indian to "take eilk" (an honour hitherto jealously confined to tho Bar practising in this country), to be a member (in association with the Maharajah of Bikaner) of tho Imperial War Conference and Imperial War Cabinet in 1917, and now to participate in the Peace Conference, to bo made.'a member of .the Ministry in Whitehall, and, finally, to be-raised to tho peerage, for he is to represent tho India Office as Undersecretary in the House of Lords. Hβ is the.second Indian (Mr. Ameer AH being the first) to be named of the PrivyCouncil. These signal honours, so gratifying to his countrymen, have been earned by high .capacity, earnest labour, nnd gifts of statesmanship. Sir A. H. Grant. Sir Alfred Hamilton Grant,-K.C.1.E., C.5.1., Indian Civil Service, who has been placed on special duty by the Government of India in association with the deputation, was appointed Foreign Secretary to the Governmont of India in March, 1915. On his return to India he is to succeed Colonel Sir George EoosKeppel as Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province.

FRANCE M. Clemenceau. Georges Clemenceau, ' tho "Grand Young Alan of Europe," has been elected from no mere deference io diplomatic cuistom, to tho permanent Presidency of the Peace Conference. Tho world could, indeed, have sought far and wide without finding a. man more suited by lug firmness of character and by his very long experience, to direct tho peaco debutes. Born in Lα Vendee 77 years ago, his career has been as varied as his political. principles have been consistent. Ho studied medicine, but while still a student he was drawn into the fiery enthusiasm of tho young Republican movement against tho Second Empiro and was, indeed, sentenced to two months' imprisonment for tho too freo expression of his ardour for a Republic. Ho left Paris .a few years before tho war of 1870, and went in' search of fortune to America. There ho earned a living as a journalist and as a teacher in a seminary for young ladies. Ho returned to Europe on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War, Hβ took,