COALITION CRISIS

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 56, 8 March 1922, Page 4

COALITION CRISIS

Sir, —Benjamin Disraeli with the precedent of-the Foi-NotUi Coalition to guide him recorded it as his conviction that England did not lovo Coalitions. Nor ie there any reason, to suppose that h« would, wore he still living, be of a different opinion to-day. The. Lloyd Gcorge-ißonar Law Government, which owes its origin to the desire for a more aggressivo and businesslike conduct of the recent Great War, is apparently tottoring to its fall. I say "apparently" for it is impossible to predict what line of action the nimble Premier will take in an attempt to regain the support of those who seem like deserting him in tho House, and,of those who have already deoerted him in "the country.

I must, however, before examining more clearly the political situation as it seems to me, slate my entire disagreement with the construction which you, in your leader of to-day, place on that portion of Mr. Austen Chamberlain's recent speech, in which he referred to the part played by Mr. Lloyd George on the occasion when he drove Mr. Asquith from power. lam not now concorned with the nierits of the quarrel between the two principals, nor is it at all gjormaiio to my purpose.to enter into a discussion as to whether Mr. Lloyd George was justified in securing the downfall of his chief in the way that he did. But what lam concerned with is the matter of his readiness to serve in a subordinate post in a Government with Mr. Bonar Law as Premier, or anybody else who could bo found to take the position. You give this as an illustration of Mr. Lloyd George's disinterestedness or want of ambition—two virtues which no one who knows the man even for one moment supposes him to poeoess. You say,- and rightly, that there was, nothing to prevent his serving in a subordinate position then, but that such a course would be unthinkable to-day. In other words, his choice is between that of remaining in office as Prime Minister, or retiring from polities altogether.

The King, as we all know, sent for Mr. Bonar Law, who stated not so much his unwillingness as his absolute impotence to form a Government. The dynamic force was Mr. Lloyd George. His peraonality overshadowed everybody. His presence, ■ especially in the light of the conditions which he tried to impose o'n- Mr. Asquith, meant that the Premier would be "relegated to the position of being an irresponsible spectator of the war." In plain words the dethronement of Mr. Asquith meant the inevitable ascension of Mr. Lloyd George to the Prime Ministership. This, and all the other proceedings of the Coalition are matters of history. It ought not to be necessary to more than recall to mind the conditions under which the election of 1918 was fought—and the signs ,of the times ought to be discernible by even the most casual observer.

.When Mr. Lloyd George got rid of Mr. Asquith he achieved the height of his ambition. Everybody was prepared to admit, and did admit/that the object of 1 winning the war was pursued with more energy after the change than before it. He instituted the wholesome idea of filling the responsible offices with expert business men, and the final victory was attributable in no small measure to his own intensity of vision and untiring energy. Unfortunately for him the General Election of 1918, added nothing to an already brilliant crown. Bather, some of the glamour was taken off. Trying "War Criminals," and "Hanging the Kaiser," however attractive they may be to the popular imagination, can have no real bearing oh the problem of how to "niake England a fit country for heroes to live in." Nor was any mandate necessary from the people, to declare who was to represent England at the Peace Conference. No one, not even the most fastidious, denied the right of the Government which had achieved the victory to send whomsoever it liked.

It is important to remember that the Election of 1918, was foisted on the British Public for a purpose. Mr. Asquith was still the leader of the Liberal Party. Mr. Lloyd George by his treatment of Mr. Aequifch, had forfeited his right to be regarded as a Liberal in anything but name. So long as that party remained intact, his position as Prime Minister was endangered. One of the- main results hoped for in the election, and as it turned out, attained, was.the-destruction of the Liberal Pajty. The Unionist Party found themselves r firmly enthroned in . the seats of the mighty with the aid of "a thumping big majority" and a Prime Minister who was, and is, cordially hated by its most prominent members, who bear with him only on sufferance, and usehim only so long as it serves their purpose to do so. ' When the people slowly recovered from the excitement of a khaki election, and found how they were being governed by a Government untrammelled by any effective opposition, and without any positive programme, they began to make themselves heard in no uncertain tone at those by-elections which, in a heavily represented country like England, are almost a weekly occurrence. Add to this the failure of the Irish Treaty, and the defeat of Coalition-Unionist candidates cepses to be a cause for "wonder or astonishment. It is the opposition the Government is encountering in the country which is responsible for the present political crisis. . And one can easily understand Mr. Lloyd George delaying an appeal to the people until he finds some means of assuring a new lease of the Treaty benches. On the other hand, the chairman of the Unionist organisation seems to regard the time as most opportune to get rid of Mr. Lloyd George, whom' he regards very much as he would regard a carbuncle on his neck. On the other hand, the Unionist leaders, like Bonar Law, Sir- A. J. Balfour, and Lord Birkenhead, advocate (i policy of caution. I do not think that Mr. Lloyd George can effect the necessary surprise, and any appeal to the people just at present, would serve no more useful purpose than to disrupt the Unionist Party, and leave him to pass on to posterity a. reputation for shattering parties equal to that of Joseph Chamberlain. In that event, Mr. Asquith, would return at the head of the Liberal Party, and the Labour Party would comprise the bulk of the opposition. The only other alternative, is for Mr. Lloyd George to found a party of his own, but as it: -would contain simply a collection of mediocrities (there being no one among the Unionists or Liberal with anything to lose, found ready'to follow him) hi3 chances of success would be ■almost nil. '

I should suppose that if the election does not come in April it will not be before August. '• Lord Robert Cecil and Lord Hugh Cecil, I expect, will join Mr. Asquith.—l am, etc., OXFORD.

7th March.