The Sun WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1914. THE POSITION OF MR ASQUITH.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 47, 1 April 1914, Page 6

The Sun WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1914. THE POSITION OF MR ASQUITH.

As the by election for East Fife will turn solely on tlie Home Rule question, the result will be watched with widespread interest throughout the Empire. As far as the Liberal Party is concerned, the seat is a perfectly safe .one. Mr Asquith had a majority of 1444 against Major Gihnour in 1906, 2059 against Colonel Sprot in January, 1910, and 1799 against the same opponent in December, 1910, when the issue was the Parliament Act. There is no doubt that the Prime Minister will be reelected, but from the party standpoint it is eminently desirable that he should maintain his majority, and increase it if possible. The fact that it was necessary for Mr Asquith to become Secretary for War himself, is' a striking indication- of the extent. of the muddle Colonel Seely got the Cabinet into by his bargaining with military officers regarding' the nature of the services they might be called upon to perform. It is hardly possible for him to rehabilitate completely his political reputation, and one can readily imagine that it was a great act of generosity on Mr Asquith's part to decline at first to accept his resignation. No doubt the Prime Minister would have been glad enough to send someone else to the War Office, but his trouble was that, with the exception perhaps of. Sir Edward Grey, none of his principal colleagues was fitted for the post. Mr Churchill and Mr Lloyd George are both out of the question as Ministers of War. Nor can it be suggested by any stretch of imagination .that either Mr Burns or Mr Birrell would be of much use at the head of Great Britain's military establishment in a crisis such as the present. There remain Mr M'Kenna who failed to make a name for himself at . the Admiralty, Mr Lewis Harcourt, the present Secretary for the Colonies, Mr M'Kinnon Wood, Secretary for : Scotland, and Mr Runciman, who is peacefully employed presiding over the Board of Agriculture. It is merely sufficient to mention their names to, realise why Mr Asquith solved the problem by taking charge of the War Office himself. It is unfortunate that it should involve his absence from the House when the Home Rule Bill comes on for its second reading, but the "absence" will be more nominal than real. Although lie cannot sit and take part in the debate, he will not be far awav, and the leadership of the House for the time being will no doubt devolve on Mr Lloyd George. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, although lacking Mr Asquith's dignity and profound knowledge of Parliament and procedure, is a clever tactician, and is not likely to get the party into trouble at such a critical time. When Mr Long moves his amendment, Mr Asquith will be at hand to direct the defence, through his lieutenants, and there is no reason to suppose that the Bill will fail to pass. This is practically the Unionists' last chance of wrecking the measure. If it goes safely through the Commons for the third time, the provisions of the Parliament Act will operate, and having been rejected twice by the House of Lords, the Government will be entitled to advise his Majesty to signify his assent to the Bill, without further regard to the attitude of the House of Lords.