A VIGOROUS DEFENCE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10717, 11 October 1920, Page 5

A VIGOROUS DEFENCE

COALITION GOVERNMENT! BRITISH PREMIER OPENS A CAMPAIGN. “PUT ON YOUR SOU’ -WESTERS.” By Telegraph—Press As»n —Copyright Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received October 10, 0.0 p.m-l LONDON, October 8. Mr Lloyd George, opening the autumn political campaign at Llandudno, had a rousing reception from a typical Welsh audience, and he put up a vigorous defence of the Coalition Government. .. , , .... „ The Premier said that u coalition was a sin a'gainst Parliament, “then Mr Asquith, who was its author, is a Jehosaphat (sec 11. Chron. xx. 37). Every country that encaged in the war except America had adopted the coalition system in order to save the State. America came in late. Her assistance was crucial and determining, but her loss of life was only equal to that or tho plucky Dominion of Australia. “We are still in the zone of hurricanes, and that is why I am in no hurry to get back to party wrangles; but I would nob take the responsibility before God of quitting the helm of the ship of State. My advice to my countrymen is: Put on your sou’-westers. We want peace on earth and goodwill toward men, not merely in Russia and Poland, but here, in our own factories, workshops and mines. The world cannot) bo rebuilt on rocking foundations.” . „ . . , Before the war, the Prime Minister went on to say, the number of strikers in Britain in a year wm 800,000, and that number had swelled to a,o(XJ,000 in 1919. Whatever happened, he was determined never to surrender the rights of tho community to the minority, as this would mean the end of democratic government and the beginning oP Soviet government. There were signs of reason and commonsense prevailing in the coal crisis, but everybody must resolve to produce to the utmost. He was. glad that Mr Sinillie had had the courage to tell the miners what their duty was. The Premier asked his Liberal friends to realise the difficulty of making peace with Russia, from where a poisonous atmosphere is emanating. In view of the unsettled position a middle course was the only safe y one. ..Mr Lloyd George did not refer to the Irish crisis in detail, but'ventured to predict that Home Rule would be passed by the Coalition Government.

The Biblical quotation given in the above message is as follows: —‘‘Then Eliezer, the son of Dpdarah of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehosophat, saying: Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah the Lord hath broken thy works and the ships were broken that they were not able to go to Tarshish.’’