IMPERIAL POLITICS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14785, 18 March 1910, Page 5

IMPERIAL POLITICS.

REVENUE RETURNS. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, March 16. A Treasury return, shows the revenue receipts to be £123,786,000, compared with £139,383,000 for the corresponding period of 1909, leaving £39,054.000 to be collected in a fortnight if the Treasurer's estimates are to be fulfilled. ADVICE DISREGARDED. WELSH LIBERALS ANGRY. LOUDON, March 17. (Received March 17, at 10.30 p.m.) In selecting 'Mr Gibbins (a magistrate) as their candidate the Liberals of Mid Glamorgan have bitterly protested against the Master of Elibank's action in advising them not to oppose the Labour party. The Master of Elibank replies that the South Wales Miners' Federation repeatedly resolved to abstain while Mr Thomas and Mr Evans adhered to Hie general political programme of the federation, but whenever a vacancy occurred to contest Uie seat against all-comers,

THE NEXT ELECTION. MR REDMOND'S PREDICTION. LONDON, March 17. (Received March 17, at 10.30 p.m.) Mr Redmond, speaking at Newcastle, said lie was perfectly sure that a general election'would take place in a- few weeks. THE COMMONS AND THE QUESTION OF SUPPLY. OPINIONS BY A NEW ZEALAND AUTHORITY. (Fiiou Que Own Correspondent.) t '.' WELLINGTON, March 17. question of the attitude which, according to the press cable messages, is to be.taken up by the Home Government in limiting Supply to six weeks has attracted • considerable attention in New Zealand-, and different opinions have been expressed as to whether it is the constitutional or the right thing to do. Yesterday I sought out an authority on the subject of parliamentary procedure, ami asked him for a judgment on the issue. "It cannot, of course," he said, " be unconstitutional, because tho Commons have always the rsyht lo refuse Supply. They are, however, only justified in taking such an extreme course when there is a vital principle at stake, It should not be made a mere question of embarrassing those who might be called upon to take the place of the Government in the event of the defeat of the latter. Tho question in the present case, then, arises: What \s the vital principle that is at stake?. It cannot lie the Budget, upon which the last election was fought, and which the Lords and the Unionists aro quite prepared to deal with if it is brought down. 'The Government, however, being in a minority in regard lo the Budget, seems afraid to bring it down. If, then, the vital question is that of the abolition of the House of Lords, or a reform of such a nature as would render the Second Chamber impotent to restrain hasty legislation, sufti an alteration of the Constitution as proposed (and' the two Chambers cannot agree on the point) should be decided by the people at a general election. That is quite evident, because an alteration of the Constitution is involved. The Government in either of these two case.? would not be justified in asking the Commons to refuse Supply beyond a limited time." Ho did not believe that the Lords would seriously consider a resolution from the House in regard to reform of the Upper Chamber. They would say: " Give us your bill." Then, supposing a bill on the lines of the Campbell-Bivnuernian resolution was passed by the House—i.e., a measure by which any bill passed by the House of Commons must become law within the term of a single Parliament, the Lords would be quite justified in throwing it out in order that the issue should be submitted to the people, They would clearly be within their rights in doing so, because any Ministry with a working majority would have to wait only some two or three years to achieve whatever they wished, and such measure might involve a radical alteration of the I Constitution such as the electors would j not approve. Therefore, such a proposal i should be first submitted to the people. | How those who ' advocated democratic principles should oppose. such a proceeding, which would practically be a referendum, was beyond comprehension. My informant, however, regarded the threats of the Liberal Government as being in the nature of a brutum fulmen. Sir Asquith, ho thought, had been allowed by the Cabinet to promulgate his present plan ot campaign in order mainly to intimidate the other side, but it was inconceivable that he would resign oflice without making provision for the carry-. ing on of the civil service of the country. That 'in itself would be a very serious matter, and Mr Asquith, lie thought, was too astute a man not to know that if he acted on these lines it would mean that the Liberals would be sent into the wilderness for many years to come. That reform of the House of Lords was necessary all sensible men would admit, and the hereditary principle would, sooner or latter, have to go. It would not, however, go at once. The one-chamber' system would be a very dangerous one, because under the unrestrained exercise of power by a majority of the Commons you might have a tryanny as grinding as under the greatest despot that ever lived. Under the present circumstances there could be no doubt that it would be the right thing to grant supplies in the ordinary way. Indeed, if tho Government attempted to precipitate a dissolution of tho House in order lo go to the country without making provision for the carrying on of the public services of the country, it would lie quite competent for the King to dismiss them and call in other members of tho House as his advisers, who would find some way of getting over the difficulty .until the election was over. The whole position was caused by the tail, in the shape of the Nationalists, making strenuous efforts to wag the dog. One thing was certain : the presentand proposed action of the Government was getting the financial affairs of the nation into a rather serious mess.