The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-03-16
EXCITING SCENES IN
BRITISH PARLIAMENT
BaIfour Government Defeated by Majority of
Eleven Votes.
Irish Planned and Successfully Executed COup-Premie De-
cIines TO Resign.

and for nearly five minutes pandemoni-
UNI reigned
Several times Sir Thomas Esmonde
tried TO read out the figures. but his
voice was drowned in the uproar
Mr. Balfour. who had been just I'm
time Go vote for the government, sat
smiling grimly. Finally, there was
comparative quiet and Sir Thomas Is
monde read.
Ayes, al; noes. 100"
At this the storm of cheering broke
out afresh. The government was de-
feated by eleven votes.
A rush TO the lobby followed. and
the members anmatedly discussed
whether or not Mr. BalfOur would re-
sign The premier. however. set these
doubts at rest by saying that ne saw
no reason for such action. Thanks To
the prolonged eNuberance OF the Irish
cheers and hectic ring Of Mr. RalfOur.
the government whips got the chance or
summoning their absent supporters and
when about ten minutes later John
Redmond moved 10 report progress on
! the ground that the government had
not a majority able to transact the
business of the government the gov
eminent secured a narrow majority OF
twenty-five.
Government Saved.
If the division had occurred a few
minutes earlier the government inevita-
bly, would have been defeated and com
PEELED 10 resign To avert this old
men who had not run for many q year
came rushing into the house. painfully
! out of breath, while Sir Thomas Henry
I Carson had not even waited TO put on
( a necktie-
BY a curious coincidence the only
( other defeat suffered by the Tnionist
party since Lord Salisbury came into
power, and which endangered the eX-
I istence Of the government. occurred
I nearly eighty years ago on Thomas Es-
I monde's amendment 20 Thomas Bal
I fOur's land purchase bin. when it again
/ fell 10 the lot Of the present chief va
/ of the Irish Party TO declare the gov
eminent in minority, which on that
( occasion, was one of only four votes
Were outwitted.
I The members of the government and
| their supporters tonight profess that
I they regard tOday's division more I'm
: the light Of a joke than anything else,
although they admit that it is a par
ticularly annoying joke, especially in
/ view of the pending bye-election. There
/ is no suggestion OF sharp practice, and
even the members Of the cabinet admit
privately that they were Woefuliy out
/ witted by the ''irrepressible Irish.
/ Sir Thomas EsmOnde IL summing W
the events OF one OF the most evenUful
{ days in the recent English political
history. said to the Associated Press;
/ ''TOday's division may be taken rs
the handwriting on the wall. EN-
! perienced parliamentary hands do not
/ attach undue Importance 10 it. but
/ nevertheless. it Enthusiastically fore
shadows an approaching dissolution
| which to some extent it hastens. It is
I a blow to the morale of the govern
ment and its supporters and a CORE
/ spending encOuraR cement 10 their op-
I ponents in parliament and in the COun-
| try. It is enough to know that the gov
7 eminent has been effectively reduced
how. il does not matter To inquire. w
understand that chey are in difficultios
l in the house and we know that they
I are not as we'll qualified IS they are
supposed TO be to carry on the business
of the country The pendulum is al
/ ready swinging towards a Liberal re-
vival and tOday's events accelerate
that movement. With one or more adj
/ verse divisions in the house Of com
mons an appeal to the country become,
inevitable. OF course. there is alway,
"a chapter of accideuts-in politics th-
only thing certain is the Unforeseen
but unless the return OF Joseph Cham
berlain after Easter brings new vigoi
and new cohesion to the UniOuist par
~, their race is we'll nigh rum"