THE BRITISH BUDGET.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 247, 24 November 1909, Page 2

THE BRITISH BUDGET.

in'xehksx m tm uotst i • ■ Uy Cauk.—JPress Ab*w**uob.— Cujij rijt" l London, .November as. A four-lined whip has beeu kuwd iwX Hie unionist i'eeia u> aueild at ttljfl second reading bUge of Ue Bill to-day, Xweniy Liberal and tbiiflH Conservative Peers have announcer their intention of speaking on tbe Bill 3UE JDEBAXE CONTIMJEB. A UHEAT ASfcSEMBLAUK VOW CKEWE'S SILENCE. ■UOXCHPOXCH" FINANCIAL LKUISI LAiWN. deceived 23, 10.15 p.m. Lonuuu, .SovfuibiT tJ. Tbe Chamber was crowded. King Manuel was amongst those present, with diplomatists, Commoners and peeresiei. The galleries were full, and ninny couU not And seats. Four hundred peers' attended. Cheers were given when 'he Earl of Cawdor presented the Imperial Maritime Leagues' Budget protest. The Leagues' petitions bore 325 signatures against the Budget. Lord Rothschild prcmu ;ed the petition of the city merchants and bankers, with IDiiO signatures. Lord Crewe formally moved tbe second reading of the Bi.l, and there-wit «<ncral surprise when ne immediately resumed his scat.

Lord Lansdowne's speech of an.hour'i duration was restrained, unrhetorical, and closely reasoned. He twitted Loru Crewe with refraining from a speech, and said "his silence is an announcement that your Lordships have really no concern in this important measure." The Bill was an unprecedented measure which had not been before the people, and thj Lords should not undertake the respon-. sibility of giving their concurrent until they were aware that the people ..Mired the Bill should become law. XUero «»1 no law compact which, made ths Lu-.di consent, merely a musty aM4W'iiin. In 1804 the annual twitm iliil had become a kind of omai'j is finance raesinrc The change had been matb «nh Itir intention of embarrass; \g lln> u\filt m (he exercise of their un.liubred right. Ire effect of "tacking" wiv a kind of butchpotcli financial legiV.at'm. Land Valuation Bills were suhmltts'l to the I.'-'dl in 1007 and 1908. fci 1M)8 the J*td» injected the Licensing Dill, lloth were included in the present Budget. What self-respecting second ch.intoer «o<ld tolerate such treat'iientf

" CHAOS, IF YOU WANT CHAOS." (FIRST STEP TOWARDS REVOLUTION Received 23. li p.m. London, November 23. Lord Lansdowne con:' tutd, The 'iovernnient could set up Homo HuJe in Ireland by the same r >:»pcsition. The Peers bad ionv. lovd l!ie u»rsequencei; of their action, and u<-rt> pie* pared to face them. They wore tofat their would be a Hnanjia. dc.ijlaok—an money to pay the Mi.ii.'to V wlarlee—but doubtless the Gorornuuiu had * nice little scheme for luting om t>mporary difficulties. " T » U;e Budget W perishable that it will not keep >'x weeks ? You can have chaos if you want chaos, but you need not. Should any assistance in this direction be d«" aired, the Opposition will do it« utmost to mitigate any inconvenience." Lord Liuisdownc proceeded to criticise chief Budget proposals. The land tana, lie snid, were based on a socialistic idea which the Government had not'the courage to avow. The whole Bill was a eon* fession that the possibilities of the Homice system, based on free imports, were virtually exhausted. The Lorlfi were told they would be punished if tbsy rejected, but the same threats had been made before. "It will be better if the Lords do not shirk their responsibilities, and do not fail those who look to us as guardians of their constitutional right to be consulted when fundamental political changes are demanded by tH Government of to-day." Lord Loreburn (Lord High Chancel. lor) replied. If he were asked, Oould the Lords reject the Bill according to law, he would say undeniably, "Yea" If he were asked whether they could do so he would say, "No." The difference between the legal and constitutional was notorious and fundamental. The Crown had enormous nowors which by constitution were unused for centuries. Those wishing to govern Britain must look to custom, usage and convention, which modified the law to such an extent that we were governed in great matters more by custom than by the law. The fact that Lord Lansdowne had dwelt on the tacking argument showed that he admitted the limitation of the Lords' power which one Chamber alone ' had power to pursue. The action which the Lords were asfceJ to take was a first step towards coistitutional revolution. If the Budget had not taxed wealth, it must have tated poverty, which policy the Government wholly opposed. Lord Lorebur.) fosclndcd by reading olnwiv from a sheet of paper: "It is impossible that any Liberal Government can ever again bear the heavy burden of office unless secured against a repetition of the treatment which has been measured out in the House of Lords during the. past four years. If the Liberals succeed in the coming election, we will not flinch from what will have to follow. We have not provoked nor desired this conflict, bat we are not afraid of it."