LORDS AND THE VETO.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1165, 28 June 1911, Page 7

LORDS AND THE VETO.

UNIONIST AMENDMENTS. THE EXCLUSION OF HOME RULE DEMANDED. COMING STRUGGLE. By relccraah—l'ress Association— CoDjrlirtal (Hoc. June 27, 10.10 p.m.) London, June 27. The intentions of Hie Opposition with regard to the Vein Hill were partially disclosed in the House of Lords yester.day, when not ice was Riven of luo important Unionist amendments. , The House, it will be rememt>ercd, agreed without division to the second reading of the Liill, and on resuming \cstcrday, after tho Coronal ion recess, began the consideration of the measure in Committee. Lord Cromer (Unionist) gave notice of bis intention to movo that a new taction be inserted in Clauso I of tho Bill, to provide for the appointment of a joint committco of seven members from each House, with the Speaker as chairman, to decide what is a money Bill, and other doubtful points which may arise in connection with the interpretation of tlio Bill; tho Speaker and the Lord Chancellor to select tho committco in such a manner as to secure an impartial tribunal. Lord Lansdowne, Leader of tho Opposition, also gave notice of an amendmont to Clause 11, exempting from the operation of the Bill any Bills affecting The existence of tho Crown, The Protestant Succession, ■ Home Eulo for Ireland, Scotland, Wales, or England, Anything which a joint committco of the two Houses regards as an issuo of great gravity, upon which tho judgment of the country has been insufficiently expressed. PEERS AND HOME RULE. MR. O'CONNOR'S FORECAST. Mr. T. T. O'Connor, M.P., in tho course of an article in "Reynold's Newspaper" last month on the Peers and the Veto Bill gives a forecast of how the measure may be treated in the House of Lords. .Among other things he says: "To tho demand of the Peers to exclude either Home Rule, Welsh Disestablishment, or any other great, measure of reform from the Veto Bill, Liberal Ministers will give a decisive and irrevocable 'No'. Everybody knows that the Liberal Ministry could have purchased peace with dishonour on these terms any time for the last year and a half, and especially at the Conference period. There is nothing that the Tories would not have been ready to do if only they could have jot Liberal Ministers to betray and desert Ireland, but' tho lure was spread in vain. On that issue the Liberal leaders havo never wavered, oven for an inch or for a second, and they are not going to do so. What, then, is tho calculation of the Tories and of the Peers? It is thst if they can concentrate the fight on Ireland the Liberal Ministry will not bo able to pursue the fight to the bitter end. Put concretely, that must' mean that the Tories think the Liberal leaders could not get the 500 Peers necessary to carry the Veto Bill over their heads. I do not want to dwell too much on t'hat side of the question for obvious -reasons, but I can say this—that the speeches and pledges of Liberal Ministers mean nothing or worse than nothing if they did not secure before they last went t'o tho country all tho guarantees that were necessary for making their policy effective in case it was again accepted by the constituencies. Their policy has been accepted by the constituencies. There is nothing more to be said."