ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. The Dominion. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1910. THE BRITISH CRISIS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 750, 24 February 1910, Page 6

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

The Dominion. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1910. THE BRITISH CRISIS.

Query.—Lady. :,Plunkot is a daughter of '; the first, Marquess of: Dufferin,. and be-, ; fore marriage ifas known Lady '.yictoria Alexandriua. , . : ,

■There is no, want of the dramatic in tho: suddonneps with which the British political crisis has come to a head. Until Tuesday it appeared to be possible) and almost probable, that Mr,, Redmond, would be able to come to a satisfactory arrangement with- the 'Government before the opening of.' Parliament.V , We,' have' all along,.'however, expressed our, disbelief that such ' an ' agreement could. be arrived at. Remembering the /Nationalists' .'bitter -: experience of reliance upon. tho Liberals,, (it was impossible to receiye any news suggesting that a'workable compact had been\'arranged; without,', many reserves.Thore .is 'therefore, nothing really surprising in the-, ultimatum .which the Nationalist leader has •presented .to Mr. .Asquitii. Nor can anything; be/said, against the Bound-, ness-, and propriety -of ' the reasons with which i Mr. Redmond supports his' threat of^var/'..--The'Rationalists. Weje. inyited .by Mr.. Asqjjith, in rhis Albert, Hall speech to render aid .'to the Liberals, in return for. Home Itule and the . suppression cif the Peers' legislative authority." The Nationalists " rendered, the aid.asked of thorn, and. they now find /that the Government is unwilling, -in the /Americanphrase, to "deliver the', goods." In the circumstances Mr. IIEDIrfOND is not merely ustified, as the'leader of the Nationalist/', pairty, in .. threatening, the Government with destruction— for that 'is .-.what his speech amounts :to-j-Hut; actually bound to do so by his which hereprcsents.'. ' ~admirers; of: Mr. •. AsQUiTS, whose admiration: does not extend tq the Budget will feel genuine regret at, the' figure which he is "cutting just; now'. When at the Albert, Hall: jho ," : ]J)roiiiised., self-government for .Ireland,- everybody -in / the ■ Empire understood his statement as a pledge' that; he, would .bring .in a Home Rule Bill. ' One . of. his ..lieutenants, .'.during .the; election, .form-, ally repudiated this pledge, , declaring . that the ' Prime. Minister had meant something, different from what his words. signified: and what everybody understood .him to mean. ' Mil. Asquith ha,_s now/further explained .that "he, did,'not intend to convey m his Albert "Hall speech' that/the Liberal 'Ministry; would! not meet the' House of Commons unless it had previously'secured ;a: guarantee' regarding the : exercise; of' the Royal prerogative." ' /,v -• Mr. Redmond was not speaking for, : thei .'Nationalists alone when he said. "We understood the' Albert Hall speech to mean that Mr. As(With/would'. hot/'assumc ; the. responsibility of government ' unless; he could rely on the .Royal prerogative to enable him. to ,pass the' Veto Bill this year. / Every Minister, repeated in substance that 'pledge. /: Mb; Lloyd-George said the sa,me thing at the' National Liberal Club'.' It is all very fine for Mr. Asouith to ' say that he ?meant ■ something else, but, it was upon , the' value of this pledge, in .conjunetion with : Hc>me Rule,' that we 'supported the Government;". '..Even/; the Daily News, :ihe most whole-souled-supporter that .the Government possesses m the' London ■ press,- is 1 constrained' to' say, in justification - of Mr, Redmond, that his understanding ofthe Albert Hall, speech was the same .as that of "evory journalist and ■" politician,, and; every ordinary citizen." The ,Prime ; Minister will not find it easy to live down .the' reputation for slimness . equivocation: which these; denials . and will make for him, nor easy to allay the suspicion with'which : the tipnalists and many others; will 'receive. his '^tatenients. and; .promises' on important matters pfipolicy.' The general attitude of Mr. Rkdmosd is exactly what we some 1 time agri : anticipated it'would As we pointed 1 out .on January '25 lasfy the Nation-' 'alists do not care a fig for tho Budget, but they; will: insist -on their price ./before; delivering their support; to' the new taxes.' "They [the Nationalists]," wfe wrote on February 14 last,.''suspect that if the Liberals can/get the, Budget through there will' be a cooling of the Liberal psssion\figi}inst the. veto." i In almost these words . Mr. Redmond has now avowed his suspicions: '-If the Budget is passed first, the House of Commons will settle down to a humdrum discussion of the veto proposal, which it knows the Lords will reject." It is difficult to believe that the present situation can end in the agreement, which the Pall Mall Gazette. expects to be arrived at before Easter.

The motion by Mil. Hn,AiEE> Bei,100, that the House regrets'tho. absence from the King's Speech of any reference to a guarantee that the ..Veto Bill will become law if it passes the Commons, will certainly fie defeated. hit it- will serve to increase the Government's. embarrassments, . Hardly inferior in interest to the speeches in tho Commons are tho speeches of Loud, Lansdowne and Lord Rosebery., Loud Lansdownb may not'have been quite ingenuous in "his '"respectful' admiration" . of the Government's disregard for the counsels of the extremists as to the Wouse of Lords. One can deteot a

flavour of sarcasm in this statement. .But there is, nothing but sincerity in the statement that if the Budget finds favour in tho Commons the Lords will be prepared to expedite its passage. Lord Lansdowne is also advocating, not, of course, for the first time, the reform of the Upper Chamber. Lord Rosebery, who endeavoured, prior to the election, to persuade the Unionists to announce some reform proposal.) has, urged that the should lose no time' in placing their owii scheme of reform before the country. There is little doubt that his advice-will Be taken, and it must bo remembered that a committee of'the Upper House has already produced a ; detailed scheme. In. its essentials the situation is unchanged, and almost incapable of change. The credit of the Government, no less than its possession of Labour and Nationalist support, depends on its ability to put a practical limit to the authorthe Peers, and that, wo still believe, is beyond the Government's power. For it requires the personal co-operation of'the ;King, and nothing is more certain than that no Government, Liberal or . Unionist, can persuade his Majesty to settle a party quarrel by violently tearing the Constitution to pieces. That reform is needed no one now disputes, out such reform; as is demanded by the Government is quite another matter. The existing machinery ik .well able to meet every situation .that arises.. Theoretically the Lords, under existing conditions,, could defy the popular will to all eternity; but when, the popular will beipg clear, or even only fairly clear, have Uiey ever done so?' Has not Lord Lansdowne announced that his party Will not again oppose the Budget?