Grey River Argus and Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd, 1910.

Grey River Argus, 22 November 1910, Page 4

Grey River Argus and Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd, 1910.

The "wail of the Conservatives lately has:!; been that the sacred British Gonstitution 1 is in -. , the melting- pot. These is nothing- of this changing" world that has ever been, perpetually regarded a.s sabred and inviolate. It is. therefore; hard "to see why that ontangible" .and indefmite thing known as, the British Constitution, should ■• be regarded as ? sacred ; aoad not ■ subject tp change 'any more than anything: else'; that has been the result of : hu-. : maiA thought and effort. ' After all, if at is . an' acknowledged truism that the British Constitution '■ is in , the melting pot, there is probably no other scheme of Government in the universe that is not ■undergoing some form of change at the' present moment. In the East and the West alike momentous changes are impend-' -ing. The .old schemes of government are being revised in ari entirely new

spdrit. The old order is- changing, and the disposition of the controlling- powers of society everywhere is being readjusted. The British people are 'on the eve of some extremely radical changes. Even the ■recognised, political parties are liable to under-' go constitutional changes not prey-.: iousy dreamt of. MriAsquith sounded the only, the true, keynote of the position when he said at the Liberal Club .that "new circumstances demanded new precedents/-' It was not a penetrating, truth for Mr Balfour to say that the course taken by Mir Asquith wais "absolutely without precedent in. the history of the^country.',' Possibly so. V But' try to imagine the,world standing stil] in the work before it until some one succeeded da' huntmg up a precedent- What is .any precedent but tHe meet'ng of an emergency ? As time is always giving xise to hitherto unknown emergen- . des, new ..precedents are eternally called for. The Common^were elected to limit the Veto. Each .=-House' tried 'to get what it wanted by neg;r otiation. Tbe Lords became obstirtat'e b'eqauste 1 'ihey/ .could ino'C get their own way. Then nothing was left for it, in Mr Garvin's immortal phrase, but to "fight; for it ?like fiends with a pure conscience." The protracted nature :of?the Veto; Conference affords sufficient evidence that the' Lords liad determined to. put back the march of progress if dt was at all possible to do so. When compromise was no longer possible, war was declared, j Nb other course was left. It wais opposed to .all sense of right and reason ' that the country should be expected to any longer. endure !tfie yoke of a single-, chamber 'tyranny. -Benceforth 'he political situation; must be, as Mr Asquith imperfectly outlined it— the duties of the Second eh^amber mizot be confined' to those subordinate functionis which, are admittedly appropriate to such a body, so as to secure a; full and even working- of the two chambers.' Mr Asquith went a great deal further, '.'but', with equal cogency and force, when he said.that whatever party happened to be dn power the ■representatives of the people were entitled to "the controlling, voice in policy and legislation alike." That is as 1 much as to say that the new order, of the day for the Empire i* that the will of the people shall prevail; under all circumstances. Before that all forms of government, lay, clerical, or otherwise must yield precedence. Even in the venerable House of Lords, it unchanging-as the East has been for ages, "parricidal"pdcltaxesare already at work, and constitutional jerry-builders . ; are' hurrying from everywhere wi^h new plans." " Tihe general election is fixed tor the 3rd of December, and the last of the. county/elections are &>•■•&* over by the 17th followdng-. This is another agreeable change. It is intended aext year to propose the payment of members. This may have the_ effect of. revolutionising Eritish politics, and cannot fail to materially affect the constitution of the Labourites and \the Irish Nationalists. In • neither party can the members be said to be agents free an<d untrammelled to vote and act according to the dictates of their own individual conscience. T£e. members in each cas c are bound by solemn pledges. The Labourites are bound to obey the instructions of the Party Caucus. The Irish Nationalists are equally dependent upon \ their Party and its funds! - As to^the Osborne Judgment Avhich hangs over 'the* Labour Party like, the sword of Damocles, Mr Asquith promise's a definite statement^ regarding it next week.' As there is not a doubt that the judgment is perfectly sound, alike in law and equity, it is probable that it will be .allowed to "stand., Mtich as the public must sympatfiise with the. efforts' and aims of the Laobur: Party, no Government could consent to be a" party to" setting up' an unsound and quite''illegal precedent merely to convenience a sec- ' tion of their party; -There are always legitimate means of overcoming functional difficulties without resorting to meth-ods that will not meet ■the objections of impartial minds; and we have no doubt at "all that, the Labourites themselves will be among "he first to. admit this when -they Jook at the matter without the mdst of party bias clouding their vision. Even if. the Osborne. judgment is maintained, as is likely to be 'the case, the Labour .Party will still preserve •its inherent strength and be guided by the same principles.. . The only difference,will be /tliat the members will become the free representatives of a free people instead of being-the •bondslaves of a caucus 'representative of only a section of: the whole community. In; the same way the Irish members v will become representatives of the United instead of being merely Irish: Nationalists. and pledged to follow Mr John Redmond. I^t both instances the members of each party will,be freer and more : n-. dependent representatives acting in a wider field Avith • higher a'spifations . Neither-the;lrish'Natiprialists <n'qt the Labour Party has any. reason to'fear ; the result of such political changes as are now impending.' Both' are' new developments", ftiej"chief of whose existence ds-antagpnism to" the rule .of ancient precedent no longer adapted to modern _ necessities. The only displacement 'that can-take plice in the cbming changes is ;hat the lumber ;of the'feudal 'ages y/ill be thrown on; the of all played-out things 1 that .served a. vpur pose din.' their time, but are :now-stale, flat,' ana unprofitable.'';. . . ;