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Taranaki Daily News, 20 January 1922, Page 5

HOME POLITICS.

COALITION DISSENSION. UNIONISTS MAY LEAVE. A CABINET CRISIS. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—copyright. Received Jan. 19, 10.30 p.m. London, Jan. 19. Although the election has been postponed a Cabinet crisis has developed since. Mr. Lloyd George’s return. The Premier strongly resents Sir George Younger’s public threats of the withdrawal of the Unionists from the Coalition if the election is held before the reform of the House of Lords is carried. He also resents Mr. Austen Chamberlain’s failure to control Sir George Younger, whose manifestoes and speeches virtually claimed Mr. Austen Chamberlain’s support.

It is reported that Mr. Lloyd George threatened to resign, taking the Coalition Liberals into opposition and handing over the Government to Mr. Austen Chamberlain, whose Unionist supporters constitute a majority of the House of Commons. A break up of the Coalition would be inevitable if the Unionists endeavor to compel Mr. Lloyd George to introduce a Bill reforming the House of Lords. The Unionists want the restoration of the House of Lords veto, which the Parliament Act of 1911 abolished, but the Coalition Liberals will not support restoration, except to a purely elective second chamber.

Interest in the crisis has been increased by the political leaders' public engagements. Mr. Chamberlain speaks at Glasgow to-day and at Edinburgh with Sir George Younger to-morrow, and Mr. Lloyd George addresses a conference of Coalition Liberals in London on Saturday. It is stated the latter* speech will be of the utmost importance, but whether it will be a castigation of Sir George Younger or an attempt to heal the dissension in the Coalition is unknown.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.