The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-02-18
The British Ministry stlll stands

II the debate and subsequent division
which took place on Thursday n the
House of Commons be carefully exam
ined it will be recognized tina the Bal
four Government, though nominally 1t
received n vote of confidence, exists
solely by the tolerance Of the Chamber
lainites on the one hand and the Con-
servative Free Traders on the other.
An ANALYSIS Of the vote on the Asquith
amendment TO the address responsive
to the Kings speech shows that had 1t
been supported by either Mr.. JOSEPH
CHAMBERLAIN or by Lord HUGH CEcu.
il must have been carried and dissolu-
ton OF Parliament must have ensned.
When Mr. CHAABERLAIN rose to speak
in the afternoon the House Of Commons
was wrought TO high pitch of tension,
for il was known that majority OF the
Ministerialists regard the member from
West Birmingham as their real leader
In view OF his own repeated professions Of
eagerness to face the electors, how could
he contradict the averment embodied
in the Asquith amendment that the time
has come for submitting to the people
! his proposed change in Britain's fiscal
/ policy? BY the equivocal course which
I he pursued on Thursday he justified
/ the nickname OF Mr.. Facing Both Ways.
/ He admitted that he had said that the
/ sooner dissolution came the better. He
was sill, he asserted, OF that opinion
| Why, then, did he not advise his follow
/ ers to vote for an amendment which
Would instantly have caused the result
which he affected 10 desire?
We imagine that few of those who
heard him now regard his professions
as sincere, in view OF the evasive position
which he chose to take. He hoped, he
said, that the Government would not
abandon its trust simply because the
Opposition wanted Office. In ether
words, dissolution, while good thing in
itself, must not come as a concession to
the demands Of the Opposition. 1t must
be voluntary on the Cabinets part. That
is to say, Premier BALFouR. SO far as Mr..
/ CHAMBERLAIN is concerned. may retain
power until near the close of this Parlia-
ment's statutory term, which does not
end until the latter part of 1907.
This was n very different announce
ment from that which many Of his de-
voted adherents must have looked for
from Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. They must
have expected him 70 say that while he
had the utmost respect and regard for
tho Prime Minister and was most re-
luctant TO seem to countenance an I'M
friendly demonstration, yet he could not
abjure the conviction so frequently
avowed. that the sooner the question Of
adopting his preferential tariff policy
were referred to the constituencies the
better would be its prospect Of ultimate
acceptance II the vote be scrutinized
by which the Asquith amendment was
defeated-a vote OF 3ll TO est is evil
don't that some Of the more stalYart
Chamberlainites resented their leaders
inclination 10 -let ! dare not wait upon
| would and refused TO follow him into
the Ministerial lobby
The number Of Unionist Free Traders
cannot be exactly stated, because it has
proved variable in the previous divisions
that might have thrown light upon it.
Never has it been computed, however, at
less than IS. Now, as the Government
majority against the Asquith amend
ment was only 63, this il is obvious,
would have been transformed into a
minority had 80 unioni.t Free Traders
voted with the Opposition instead ofsup-
porting Mr. BALFoUR Mr.. AsoUiTH and
Sir HENRY OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES must
have reckoned on assistance from that