DOWN THE SLOPE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 24, 29 January 1912, Page 7

DOWN THE SLOPE.

MR. BONAR LAW AND THE GOVERNMENT. 'A. SCATHING CRITICISM. By TelegrM&.-Preii Association.— Copyright LONDON, 27th January. Mr. Andrew Bonar Law, Leader of the Opposition, addressed a packed meeting in the Albert Hall yesterday, when great enthusiasm marked tho proceedings. ' Mr. Law eaid the Government could not keep going at the present pace. The result must be either the destruction of the Government or the ruin of the country. The Cabinet had played Faust to Mr. Redmond's Mephistopheles, and it was now called upon to redeem its bond. The proposed disestablishment of the Church in Wales was an act of destructive violence. It appeared that the Unionist Freetrader must rhoose between Tariff Reform and Lloyd Georgeism, and the country had had enough of the present Government. THE LONG LANE. The lane had been a long one, but' the turning was in sight. "Failure and incompetence have marked every step of the wild men who control the Radical Party," declared the Unionist leader. "They trusted the late Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, but they do not trust the present Premier, who is being driven without resistance faster and faster down the slope." • IN THE NATIONALISTS' * POCKET. There was never a whisper of competent criticism on tho Government benches — the critics were promptly collared and made peers, knights, or front bench men. Wales had thirty members in the House, and of these eighteen had been honoured with rewards ranging from a peerage to a job. The Labour Party had lost its influence because it was in the Government's pocket. On the other side the Government had sold the Constitution, and now it found itselt in the Nationalists' pocket. Tremendous transformations had been made in the Cabinet, without explanation, before Christmas. Mr. Churchill had had enough of Stepney sieges and gentle shepherds, and had gone to the Admiralty, while Sir. M'Kenna had had enough of the Archer-Shee case and of Lord Charles Beresford's criticism. Both now desired to begin a new leaf. Lord Haldane's. method ot strengthening the Regular Army was by making a reduction of 20,000 men. He had similarly reduced the auxiliary forces by 30,000 men, and all were armed with weapons inferior to those of other nations. THE MOROCCO INCIDENT. While he did not join in the senseless attack made on Sir Edward Grey by his own pre<s6, Mr. Law said it was a fact that the Morocco incident had ended to the advantage of France, while Britain had got all the ill-will. "We drifted to the verge of war because our responsible Ministers led foreign nations to believe tho Government would never assert its rights by force. Mr. Lloyd George's Mansion House speech saved us from war; but ;t; t accentuated Germany's ill-will, and it would require a generation of save statesmanship to live it down." Mr. Law declared that the Radicals had increased the national expenditure to the extent of £40,000,000 annually, and much of it was spent upon a swarm of new officials numbering nearly 6000, half of whom were appointed without competition. • "WHAT HUMBUGS THESE PEOPLE ARE." • Revolutionary Governments were always corrupt Governments. Capital was leaving the country to an extent unknown in Britain's history, and there seemed to be no bottom to the drop in the price of Consols. The Government had hitherto been preparing machinery for destruction which would come into operation next session. The Premier had told them that woman suffrage would be a national disaster ; yet he expressed his willingness tr» perpetrate that disaster. " Hae ever British statesmanship fallen, so low? " asked 'the Leader of the t Opposition. He reviewed the Ministerial* programme, and expressed the belief that the Government was already in difficulties over the construction of a Bill acceptable to Ireland and possibly to England. "What humbugs these people are!" said Mr. Law. MThey have employed trickery and the methods of the 'artful dodger.' Their methods last session were a disgrace to the Government j and a degradation to the House of Commons." BEST FIGHTING SPEECH FOR YEARS. (Received January 29, 8.10 a.m.) LONDON, 28th January. Unionist newspapers applaud Mr. Bonar Law's speech, characterising it as the best fighting speech for years.