PREMIER S SPEECH.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 October 1922, Page 5

PREMIER S SPEECH.

LONDON EBESS VIE.WS, SEVERELY CRITICAL. LITTLE support given, By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Received Oct. 16, 8.5 p.m. London, Oct. 16. Press comment on Mr. Lloyd George’s speech is severely critical and generally bad, the Daily Chronicle and Daily Telegraph alone supporting him. The latter deprecates a general election in the present state of the Near Eastern situation and the imminence of the ratification of the Irish treaty. The Daily Express describes the Premier’s references to France as deplorable, and declares: “Whoever represents us at the Near Eastern conference will be weighted by these utterances. It is an impossible position.” The Westminster Gazette says: “Nobody is so quick to recognise a failure of tactics as Mr. Lloyd George. He plainly saw the country had no use for Mr. Chamberlain’s policy, and he left the latter to flounder in the morass in which he wandered.” The Morning Post says: “The apparent frivolity with which the Premier deals with most delicate questions of international moment seems to indicate that Mr. Lloyd George is temperamentally incapable of understanding the elements of statesmanship.” A COMPLEX SITUATION. CONFLICTING PRESS VIEWS. London, Oct. 15. The speeches of Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Lloyd George have done little to simplify the complexity of the political situation.

Newspapers according to partisanship, place conflicting interpretations upon these speeches. Some strongly approve Mr. Chamberlain’s loyalty to Mr. Lloyd George. Others declare he is a traitor to the Conservative Party and should resign the leadership. It is suspected in some quarters that both Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Lloyd George are again manoeuvring tor the creation of a centre party by the elimination of dissentient elements in the Coalition. Their speeches seem to indicate that they intend to await developments in the Conservative ranks. The moderation of Mr. Lloyd George’s speech came as a surprise after the sensational prophecies. The Sunday Express states the question for Conservatives is whether the the party is to be shattered like the Liberal Party, in order to keep Mr. Lloyd George in power. The Conservative rank and file desire to deliver their party from the coils and toils of the Coalition. They are determ'aed to recover their independence and go before the electors with their own policy. Mr. Chamberlain ought to resign, and if he refuses, a conference of Conservative members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords ought to be summoned to define the party’s policy and choose a leader.

The Observer states the mass of moderate Conservatives desire to end the present coalition. They want to march to the polls under their own 'anner with their own leader and programme. This is the only means of ecping the party together. If by an immediate election the Unionist Party is committed without its representative body being consulted a total split will be threatened and the Unionist leaders in the Cabinet may be re. pudiated by the rank and file. The Observer declares that experts reading between the lines of the Manchester speech predict that Mr. Lloyd George intends to resign the Premier- : ship within a few days. This will result in a dissolution of Parliament ®xd an election early in November.