GENERAL ELECTION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16627, 9 January 1922, Page 6

GENERAL ELECTION.

SIR C. YOUNGER’S ATTITUDE. “OBSERVER’S” OPINIONS. B S£S“F* ,h - p S e “ Associa tion—'Copyright, ustrahan and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received January 9, 8.5 a.m.) LONDON, January 7. The “Observer,” explaining the situation, states that Sir George Younger argues that before the election the position must be made clear, at any cost, whether by a split of the Coalition or a fusion, otherwise the Coalition Liberals might hold the balance of power in the next Parliament as the Conservatives must lose a large number of seats whether the election comes sooner or later. Mr Lloyd George, with a smaller majority in the House of Commons, might be more than ever master of* the situation and would be able to make and unmake Ministeries and combinations as he pleased.

Sir George Younger is opposed to an election on such terms. Later on ho will be equally opposed to it on the same terms. His protest means nothing if it does not mean that tho I nionists, while they have a preponderance of x>°' rtr ®i' in the House of Commons, must either make sure of Mr Lloyd George’s leadership beforehand or face the alternative of doing without him.

The kernel of Sir George Younger’s case is the reforming of the House of Lords before dissolution, by which the interests of the Conservatives would be strengthened against the possible extremist tactics of the future Labour majority, but to carry in the present Parliament the reform of the Lords on any plan satisfactory to the Unionists, Mr Llovd George would have to antagonise implacably both Labour nnd the free Liberals. By this the Conservatives’ problem of making such of Mr Lloyd George would solved.

•Sir George Younger, head of the Unionist Party machine, startled the prophets of a general election by declaring that the Coalition Government’ s work would not be complete until it bad carried the reform of the House of Lords and the moment was not opportune for this, in view of the fact that the campaign would interfere with commerce when it was just turning the corner. Another message stated that the Conservatives favoured the postponement of the election until the autumn in order to allow the reform of the House of Lords to be carried.