IMPERIAL POLITICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 362, 13 April 1910, Page 5

IMPERIAL POLITICS.

LIBERAL CAMPAIGN. AGAINST THE VETO. AN ANGRY PEER. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. London, April 11. An active campaign against the veto is being carried on by Liberals in London. Many meetings were held in the parks at the week end, and others are being arranged. It is proposed to secure a largelysigned petition to the Premier, supporting his action. Twenty anti-veto demonstrations were held in Devonshire on Saturday. Lord Ampthill, speaking at Bedford, said the government of the country was in the hands of unscrupulous and adventurous demagogues', so puffed with pride of place that they were willing to put the constitution into the melting yot and play the devil with the finances in order to throw the onus of the resulting chaos on to the House of Lords. O'BRIEN AND LLOYD-GEORGE. LEGALISING THE INCOME TAX. London, April H. Mr. W. O'Brien declares that he will meet Mr. Lloyd-George's astounding denial on t'he floor of the House.

Mr. Lloyd-George, replying to a question in the House of Commons, stated that he hoped the resolution legalising the income tax would be pas'sed on April 18. MR HEALY INTERVENES. ME. REDMOND SILENT. Received April 12, 11.20 p.m. London, April 12. Mr. Redmond declares that his lips are ■ sealed regarding details of Mr. Healy's interviews with any Ministers; but hie denies Mr W. O'Brien's' statement's regarding himself. It is ridiculous, he says, to pretend tjiat concessions are dependent on the •Nationalists' consent, inasmuch as all alleged concessions are strenuously advocated by the party throughout, and have fceen privately pressed on the Government. Mr. Redmond denied that the Nationalists have been offered concessions. MR. LLOYD-GEORGE'S DENIAL. Received April 12, 11.11 p.m. London, April 12. Mr O'Brien applied for the Speaker's permission to explain on Thursday regarding Mr. Lloyd-George's denial. "UREISMS." PEERS ON COLONIAL MATTERS. Received Aprii 12, 11.15 p.m. London, April 12. Lord G. G. Hamilton of Dalzell, replying to Lord Stanhope, detailed Australia and New Zealand's Customs regime and their old-age pensions schemes.

Lord Stanhope then criticised what he described as the Lord Advocate's "ure--ssms" regarding the possibility of imports meeting the expenditure on oldage pensions. REMODELLING THE LORDS. NECESSITY OF A REVISING CHAMBER. SPEECH BY THE PREMIER. Received April 12, 11.15 p.m. London, April 12. Mr. Asquith, in moving his second resolution, emphasised that the absolute veto of the Lords would remain untouched, except where there was a?> overwhelmingly .strong presumption that the House of Commons' decisions expressed the people's opinion. He ad-, mitted there were conceivable actual cases wherein the decision of the Commons might not represent the opinion of the people, I 'instancing a scratch majority handed together under the coercion of party exigencies for particular and transient purposes, or a crumbling majority which had lost popular favor. Therefore a Second Chamber, even such as the present House of Lords, had its uses, and ought to he allowed to exercise its powers to prevent abuse of constitutional forms. He explained that according to his resolution there would be two years' delay between the introduction and the final passin- of a Bill. Under the new system a Bill must precede a general election. He added that though the preamble of the Veto Bill foreshadowed a change in the Second Chamber's constitution, this would take a long time, even urder the most favorable circumstance. Hence the operative clauses would not travel beyond the resolutions. / NATIONALISTS .AND THE GOVERNMENT. Unionist newspapers quote Mr. Redmond's statements that guarantees and not concessions were the cause of the the Cabinet, thus suggesting that concessions in connection with the Budget were obtainable.

The Chronicle saxs the onlv common ground so far is that the 'interviews ■with Mr. Lloyd-George have occurred, and that no two nrrsons or parties in 100 delicate negotiations ever give independently the same account.