IMPERIAL POLITICS,

Otago Witness, Issue 2761, 13 February 1907, Page 19

IMPERIAL POLITICS,

LONDON, February 5. Mr Winston Churchill (Under-secretary for the Colonies), speaking at Manchester, attacked the House of Lords, characterising it as the agent of one party and the champion of the landed interests. He declared that before appealing to the country the House of Commons must pass a couple of good Radical Budgets. The power of the purse was the first great weapon whereby the House of Commons was able to make its will effective over the whole area of government and legislation. The Admiralty has decided that the Cape and East Indian Stations shall cooperate, and that the command of the former shall be eenior to the latter. The ships of the two stations -will be interchangeable. The changes are made on the grounds of health. Mr Winston Churchill (Under-secret ary for the Colonies), in. the course of his attack on the House of Lords in his 6peech at Manchester, said that peers might be created, possibly temporary peers, not to mention other resources in the way of legislation to counteract the opposition of the Lords. In the course of his speech at Manchester, Mr' Winston Churchill, referring to the question of female suffrage, said he would not give women the same franchise as men. Mr Austen Chamberlain, speaking at Stirchley, paid a warm tribute to the Unionists' loyalty to Mr BaKour's leadership. He rejoiced that Mr Balfour had restated his convictions, which were founded on keen observation of the course of national trade and the study of Imperial problems. The Morning Post says that if it is necessary to make sacrifices to secure party unity the tariff reformers might exclude the duty on corn from their first instalment of a scientific tariff, giving the colonies a limited preference by means of low duties on produce and meat. At a meeting at Dublin Mr John Redmond was re-elected chairman of the Irish parliamentary party. Mr John O'Donnell was excluded. Mr Sheehan was not readmitted. Mr Crean and Mr Gilhooly dissented from these decisions. The Senate of the University of Dublin has adopted a resolution declaring that Mr Bryce's university scheme is fatal to the best interests of a liberal university education, besides being unjust to Trinity College. February 6. The Unionist party at Perth, in recognition- of his peisonal worth as a citizen, will not oppose the election of Sir Robeit Pullar (Liberal) in succession to Mr R. Wallace, who has been appointed chairman of the London Couuty Sessions. In his customary letter to his supporters on the eve of the assembling of Parliament, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman states that it is the intention of the | House of Commons immediately to consider matters of grave importance. This is interpreted to refer to the reform of the House of Lords. The Daily Telegraph states that Loid Newton is drafting a bill providing for the inclusion in the House of Lords of ex-Ministers and some other 6 who have served the State ; also for the election of a number of peers by delegation, as in the case of Scottish and Irish p^ers. Mr Winston Churchill (Under-secretary for the Colonies), speaking at the Chamber of Commerce dinner at Leeds, drew a lesson from Jamaica and a score of needs elsewhere that it was urgently necessary to establish a squadron of warships of some sort or other to patrol the outlying possessions. The system, of commercial conferences started by the late Government would be extended and maA regular, bringing practical business men throughout the country into closer relations with the high officials of the Colonial Office. There would be on all sides unrestricted freedom and frankness at the Colonial Conference. The Government valued highly the preferences already to Britain by the colonies, be-

cause of the loyal and noble sentiment prompting them, because they were freely given, and because in that way the colonies were able to make some return to the Motherland for her great expenditure for the defence of the Empire. The Government sympathised with and supported the growing practice of intercolonial preference, because it involved the lowering of duties and facilitated the approach to intercolonial Fieetrad* 1 , the goal of both the tariff reformers and Freetraders of Britain. Mr Keir Hardie, M.P. for Merthyr j Tydvil, in the course of an address to his constituents, said that the three Labour bills passed last year, instead of becoming weaker, like other measures, in their passage through the House of Commons, had been strengthened, because Labour was free to fight either the Liberal or Tory Government as circumstances dictated. Sir W. S. Robson, K.C., the Liberal member for .South Shields, advocates a strong non-hereditary elenwct in the House of Lords. February 7. Mr Keir Hardie, M.P., speaking at Llwydcoed, said that the Labour party proposed that London and other large municipalities should be authorised to undertake the business of buying and gelling coal, which would reduce the price by one-half, raise the colliers' wages 50 per cent., and leave a handsome profit towards old-age pensions. Mr Keir Hardie said he believed that a general election was inevitable in 1908. Since he had had peisonal experience of fhe income tax he , admitted 1 that the middle class was entitled to relief. He advocated a graduated tax, placing additional burdens on the rich. February 8. Sir J. Lawson Walton (Attorneygeneral), speaking at Leeds, said that the House of Lords must go down before the | rising tide. The Government would give I effect to the people's will by submitting bills which the Lords may reject, thus leading to a combination of the Crown and people against the aristocracy. Mr Lyttelton (ex-Colonial Secretary), speaking at Guildford, said that the welcoming of preferential trade between the colonies by Mr Winston Churchill (Undersecretary for tlie Colonies) removed every objection in principle to preference between the Motherland and her colonies. The matter now was merely one of machinery and adjustment. The Westminster Gazette declares that the Liberals will only welcome that preference which is cpneeded to the Motherland as evidence of the colonies' goodwill and an advance towards Freetrade. February 9. Mr Lloyd-George (President of the Board of Trade), addressing a meeting of 4000 Liberals and Russellites in the Ulster Hall, Belfast, declared himself to be a profound believer in the principle of self-government, but in any scheme introduced by the present Government the supremacy of the Impeiial Parliament would be maintained. Separation between Ireland and Britain was unthinkable. Self-government meant st lengthening the bonds between the two countries, the only real bond being contentment. Mr Llo}-d-George's visit was the- first paid by a Liberal Minister to Belfast bince 1885. Extraordinary precautions were taken to prevent a threatened disturbance, but the demonstration in honour of the M mister was of an orderly character, the Orangemen and Unionists generally holding aloof. February 10. Ifc is authoritatively stated that Mr Chamberlain is progressing favourably, but that he will not return to the House of Commons before Easter. The Attorney-general (Sir J. L. Walton), in his speech at South Leeds, eaid that the Labour party was most useful in advancing reforms, but that its Socialist ideals weakened the usefulness of the party. Sir J. L. Walton (the Attorney-general) explains that his statement to the effect that the Government would suomit bills which the Loids may reject, thus leading to a combination of the Crown and people against the aristocracy, was personal and

unpremeditated, and was not intended to be reported. He regrets that- he unhappily used language lending itself to startling headlines. I Mr Gibson Bowles asserts that Sir A. F. Acland-Hood (the principal Opposition Whip) proposes that the King's Lynn Fiee Food Association should reunite with the Conservatives on the basis of the exclusion of additional taxation on food" from the programme of Conseivative candidates in future. Mr Winston Churchill, Under-secret ary, for the Colonies, in an explanation regarding hie recent speech at Leeds, states that no Freetrader would consent to purchaje Freetrade within the Empire at the cost of a protective tariff around the United Kingdom. If any of the Protectionist colonies made reciprocal arrangements with each other the United Kingdom would benefit under the mc6t-favoured-nation principle.