CABINET DISSENSIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 September 1924, Page 12

CABINET DISSENSIONS.

MR. SNOWDEN’S ATTITUDE. , EARLY ELECTION FORECASTED. London, Aug. 24. 'Reynolds Sunday newspaper states that it is of the opinion that the controversy between the Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Philip Snowden, which was the result of Mr. MacDonald’s intervention in the negotiations that brought about the agreements with Russia, has considerably advanced the date of the next general election. Mr. MacDonald has practically determined to appeal to the country in the second week in December.

The Observer, discussing the friction, says there is lack of normal contact between Mr. MacDonald and his colleagues because Mr. MacDonald is overburdened with the offices of Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary. Cabinet meetings are fewer than under former regimes. Mr. Snowden believes that Mr. MacDonald does not consult him sufficiently, while Mr. MacDonak|ls friends Jthink that Mr. Snowden sees too much of Mr. Lloyd George. Their homes in Surrey are adjacent. Some Labour members believe that Mr. Snowden would like to make a working agreement with the Liberals. Most Labour followers reject and abhor this. Mr. Lloyd George’s friendliness in the House of Commons towards Mr. Snowden, and his hostility toward Mr. MacDonald, are so marked that Mr. SnoWden. by further separate manifestos, would only ruin himself with his own party. Nevertheless, he probably feels that only by dropping a bombshell "can he eall Mr. MacDonald’s attention to the fact that adequate collective consultation is a vital element in collective Cabinet responsibility