THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1910. THE POLITICAL SITUATION AN HOME.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9713, 8 February 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1910. THE POLITICAL SITUATION AN HOME.

Cablegrams, published in our issue of yesterday, oearing upon the political situation at Borne, confirm what is, no doubt, the general opinion as to the result of the election just concluded, viz., that it has paved the way, so to speak, to another appeal to the electors in the immediate future. The present state of parties, is most unsatisfactory, save from the Nationalists' point of view, and though one may sympathise with the desires and aspirations of the Nationalists, such sympathy can scarcely be extended to a desire to see the whole of the affairs of the United Kingdom subordinated to the Irish question. Mr Asquith and his party are, of course, preparing for another fight. In view of the strength of parties the Liberal leader cannot hope to succeed wit'i any legislation of a drastically rf formative character that is opposed by the Unionists', save at a price that he is certainly not prepared to pay, and even if be were, Buch compliance on his part, though naming him temporary vie-

Tory, would most probably result in his meeting with dite disaster in the end. We refer to Home Rule for Ireland. If Mr Asquith were to form such a measure, and to pledge himself to the Nationalists to introduce a Bill in that direction, he could unquestionably force through some party measures of a particularly distasteful character to the Unionists, but Mr Asquith has made it clear that while he favours giving the Irish people large measures of selfgovernment he does not believe in Home Rule in toto. After Mr Asquith's declarations on thia question we are not surprised to learn that Mr O'Brien, the leader of the Nationalist party, has stated that his party "requires that the Irish part of the Budget should be reconstructed from top to bottom." It is pretty clear, therefore, that the degree of Nationalist support that Mr Asquith will receive will be, practically, useless to him. The verdict of the country, such as it is, has been obtained, and | the question of absorbing interest now is„what will Mr Asquith do in regard to the Budget? Will he reintroduce it just as it was before the elections, or will he proceed to endeavour to abolish the Lords' power of veto. The "Daily Chronicle," a well-informed Liberal journal, says that the strategic danger is that if the Liberals submitted a scheme, which is capable of being represented as a virtual abolition of the Lords, Mr Balfour would then submit a scheme for a reformed Chamber. This would appear to be the correct view. One cannot see how Mr Asquith would improve the position of the Liberal party by a change in tactics involving the introduction of still another debatable measure. Moreover, he is faced with the indisputable fact that the Unionists gained a great deal of ground in the last contest, an J secured a virtual victory. The gauntlet has been thrown down, and pluckily accepted by the Unionists. By the Budget the Liberal party must either stand or tall, and, consequently, one cannot see thac there is any other course npin to Mr Asquith than to reintro<i"?R the Budget, and await develop u its. The political situation at Home uas, figuratively speaking, j only just commenced to become inI teresting.