THE PENDING BATTLE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7025, 13 January 1910, Page 5

THE PENDING BATTLE

FORECAST OF RESULTS AVHAT “THE TIMES” EXPECTS UNIONISTS TO GAIN. MANY SEATS DOUBTFUL. By Telegraph—Press Association— CopyxigM(Roceived January 12, 10.55 p.m.) LONDON, January 12. “The Times,” after summarising the election probabilities in o\ ery constituency, makes tho following forecast: Unionist gains 134 Liberal gains 3 Doubtful 3S It adds that tho Unionists will probably gain 17 seats in London, where in 1906 the Liberals won 42 scats and the Unionists 19. SPEECHES BY MINISTERS SIR EDWARD GREY ON NAVAL EXPENDITURE. LONDON, January 11. Six Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, speaking at Edinburgh, condemned the recent attempts to create panic about the possibility of war with Germany. The increasing of naval expenditure, bad, said tho Minister, produced no coolness between tho two Governments, . but had doubtless had an effect upon the press and public opinion, resulting in a contain anxiety regarding the future. Eventually some agreement of a perfectly voluntary nature might bo arrived at. In time the German programme would bo completed, and there would be an ascertained proportion between the navies of the two countries, which might put rivalry in naval expenditure at rest. “PREFERENCE SHEER MADNESS.” Mr Augustine Birrell, Chief Secretary for Ireland, in an address to the electors of Bristol North, described an Empire Tariff Reform scheme with preferential treatment for the colonies as sheer madness. It would be rank folly, ho declared, to abandon the present policy, which had made the country so prosperous. Mr Birrell favoured disestablishment and disendowment of the English Church. THE PREMIER REPLIES TO AIR BALFOUR. LONDON, January 12. In the course of an address at Ipswich, Mr Asquith, Prime Minister, replied to Mr Balfour’s Aberdeen speech. He declared it was a vital necessity to maintain a perfectly open market, whereby Britain would be better able to overleap tariff barriers than countries adopting a policy of retaliation. The enormous industrial advance of Germany was not due to tariffs, but to education arid organisation. OPPOSITION CAMPAIGN MR BALFOUR FAVOURS FREE- . HOLD SMALL HOLDINGS. . LONDON, January 11. Mr A. J. Balfour, Opposition leader, in a speech at Aberdeen, said that tho number of landlords ought to be greatly increased. .Small holdings could not prosper without tho stimulus of ownership. /- Referring to tariff reform, Mr Balfour declared that the producer might be considered more than the consumer. Money invested abroad was not wasted, added tho speaker, but Britain benefited far more by production due to British capital employing British labour. ! BRITAIN’S OVERSEA TRADE. MR LYTTELTON DRAWS SOME COMPARISONS. (Received January 12, 9.5 p.m.) LONDON, January 12. Mr Alfred Lyttelton, ex-Colonial Secretary, speaking at Wolverhampton, said Australia’s business with Britain amounted to £7 5s per head of population per annum, while value per head of the Commonwealth’s commerce with tho United States and Germany was 13s 3d and 5s 9d respectively. Germany, with a population of 60,000,000, did business with Britain to the extent of £29,000,000, while Australasia, with a population only equal to that of London, did £20,000,000. THE PRICE OP BREAD. The solo obstacle to the closer knitting of the Empire’s commercial bonds, declared Mr Lyttelton, was the belief that colonial preference* involved taxation. He was fully prepared to admit that in order to get effective preference there should he a low. duty, not upon colonial wheat, for instance, but on foreign. Tho fear that this would increase prices was groundless. What determined tho price of bread was a sufficient supply of Homo and colonial wheat and flour, and there was sufficient competition to keep down the price. The wheatgrowing areas of Canada alone were sufficient to supply tho consumption of the whole world. In addition, Britain had reserves in India. South Africa, Australia, and Now Zealand. Further than that, he believed the United States would pay

to the revenue a substantial sum inj order to liavo the privilege of con-j tinning to supply a portion of tho British market. ELECTION ITEMS LONDON, January 11. Mr Haiso, a Liberal candidate, is hurrying from Afghanistan to contest the Bristol West scat. An active campaign on behalf of Mr Will Crooks, the Labour candidate, is proceeding at Woolwich, pending his arrival from Australia. While motoring near Cardiff, Mr Marley, the Unionist- candidate, was shot at, the bullet penetrating the wind-screen of the car and whizzing past his head. THE FEDERAL ELECTIONS By Telegraph-Press Association—-Copyright. (Received January 13, 0.25 a.m.) MELBOURNE, January 12, Tho Federal Cabinet has fixed the elections for April 13th. Mr Deakin delivers a policy speech at Ballarat early iu February.