Taranaki Herald. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1910. MR. ASQUITH’S DILEMMA.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14136, 16 February 1910, Page 2

Taranaki Herald. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1910. MR. ASQUITH’S DILEMMA.

If ever a British statesman was on the horns of a dilemma, Mr. Asquith is in that unenviable position at the present moment. An appeal to the country on no single defined issue has left him with a sadly reduced following and a correspondingly strengthened opposition party to face when Parliament meets again in the course of a few days. His party is numerically slightly stronger than Mr. Balfour’s, though it is hy no means so solid, for there are signs of dissension in the ranks already. His political fortunes have been waning for three or four years, and they have arrived at that stage when two or three defections or two or three losses at bye-elections may at any time leave him' with a smaller party than his opponents. Of course he is able to command with some certainty the Labour vote and probably also the majority of the Irish members on a crucial division. But even with the Labour Party supporting him his position is somewhat precarious, and his continuance in office appears to depend mainly upon the support he receives from the Nationalists. These, we are told, are averse to another election at an early date, and on that account they may be content with only a partial redemption of the promises Mr. Asquith has made to bring forward legislation conceding some further measure of self-government' for Ireland. If that were his only difficulty Mr. Asquith might be fairly assured of a reasonably long continuance in office, but the dissensions in his own party following are more dangerous. A section of the party is bent xipotn curbing tbe power of the House of Lords before proceeding with any other legislation, even before dealing again with the Budget. But the new House is very different in composition from the old one, and even if it is in the power of the House of Commons to carry into effect so revolutionary a change as is contemplated by tlie Lloyd-Georges/ the Churchills, and other hot-bloods —which may be doubted —it is quite likely that when the House meets the Opposition may he found strong enough to curb the movement, and the weakness of the Government may thus be exposed. If Mr. Asquith decides to give ibis Scylla a wide berth he may be drawn into tlie Cliarybdis in proceeding first with his Budget proposals, for it is unlikely that the Budget which he carried in the old House will go through in quite the same form in the now one. The extreme faction led by Mr. Lloyd-George will be dissatisfied if too many .concessions are made, while the more moderate members of tlie party may withdraw their sup-, port if Mr. Lloyd-George insists upon the bill, the whole ’bill, and nothing but, the bill as it passed before. Mr. Asquith has given a fairly definite pledge that he will not attempt to carry on the government of the country unless the House of Lords’ power of veto is taken away, but it will require exceedingly skilful navigation on

life part to steer clear of tlie dangers which threaten him on either side. There is more than a possibility that there will be another appeal to the country before the year is out.