Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-19
POLITICS IN ENGLAND
Liberal Party to Have Diff
Guilty in Keeping Control.
Special cablegraa, to Tho star.

i -sA'NStaA San1tSIas1 10 Tho star.
/ LONDON. December 1s-The new house
OF commons will see the representatives of
labor interests in all probability in the po-
| sil'on OF arbiters Of the fortunes OF min
lsters for the first time In the history of
parliament The labor party at st.
stephens viii be a distinc< parliamentary
unit. with policy and organization of It's
own Its members will no longer respond
TO the crack OF the liberal whip. but will
act as an autonomous group There are
over nifty labor candidates before the con-
stituencies, and Ii Is no extrayagant esti-
| mate to put the number that may be ex-
pected to find their way to st. stephens
at thirty.
The labor party will clanlor for pay
ment Of members and of elections expenses
the abolition of plural voting, every man
one vote. end reform Of the registration
laws, with extension of the hours of poll
Ing; amendments of the law of eonfbina-
! ton and extension of the work,nen's COM
pensatlon act, all of which II regards as
urgent wants But more than all Ii will
insist on the recognition of the right to
work, with schemes of land colonization.
reclamation and borestation undertaken by
the state.
Meantime the official liberal mind tiweIls
on amendments of the education acts the
licensing law and the Chinese labor ordi-
nance. The taxation of land values. the
modincation OF the lords veto. women's
burning matters.
Situation of Liberals.
The situation naturally Invites specuIa-
uon as to the composition and prospects of
durability OF the coming liberal govern
ment 1t is clear that out of majority
composed OF liberal imperiaiIsts, little Eng
laQderS. Old StHla Ia y,,a,
pendent labor members no homogeneous
government can be formed The spoi1s OF
off1ce will necessarily be- shared by the
hoseberians and the Bannermanites-with
none or TWO thrown to the extreme radical
and the labor group. A composite cabinet
is inevitable. With imperiaiists like Mr.
Asqniti. Sir Edward Grey and possibly
Lord Rosebery on the one hand and with
Mr.. Morley, Mr.. Lloyd George and Mr..
John Burns on the other, Sir Henry's cab
met will have stormy times to face
An Indication of the kind of loyalty Sir
Henry may expect.is to be found in recent
statements by prominent nonconformist
leaders, the Rev. Sylvester Horne, Mr. Keir
Hardie and Mr.. Lloyd-George. In some
what vehement terms Mr.. Horne intirnated
that unless the liberal government satisfied
the nonconformists on the education ques-
ton he and his friends would ruthlessly
torpedo 1t. Mr.. kier Hardie predicts as a
likely development in the next parliament
coalition Of socialist radicals, nationalists
and labor folk" Mr.. Lloya-George erst-
while strenuous Campbell annermanite,
said at Glasgow:
1.-The history OF the next parliamentary
regime, which will be the greatest in MEM
DRY, will be associated more with the name
OF Mr.. Asquith than Of any living states
man.
Mr.. Kier Hardie's yelled threat is no idle
one. The labor representation committee,
which now practically controls parliament
airy labor candidatures, expressly forbids its
nominees to ally themselves with the liberal
party, and it Is this section of labor repre-
ssentattyes which will constitute consider
able majority of labor members in the new
parliament. 1t is worthy of note in this
connection that the municipal elections show
a gain of forty-three labor seats, as COM
pared with twenty-nine in 1872 while liberal
gains are but sixty-one, as compared with
eighty-three in 1902
Labor Party for Home Rule.
When IT is added that practically all of
the labor members are prepared to support
Mr.. Redmond In his demand for home rule.
as 1t is understood of the Irish party and
the Irish people, 1t will be seen that the
liberal majority will be in an inverted
pyramid balanced upon its apex. Suppose
the Irish natfonalists and the labor mem
bers desired to put the screw on the gov
eminent. Mr.. Redmond would only have to
move a resolution condemning the liberal
declarations on home rule as unsatisfactory
to secure the adhesion of the regular oppo-
sition and the labor vote. Similarly let
Mr.. Kier Hardie or Mr. Crooks move the
condemnation of ministers for being insult
f1ciently explicit In their declarations on the
unemployed problem, and the destructive
combination would work in that case also.
What prospect Of stability can a govern
ment have of which so much is expected
while Its majority is liable at any moment
to extinction in the face OF a hostile COM
binatfon OF labor members and national
lists? What hope can Sir Campbell Ban
herman have of placating the Irish without
a home rule bill or of earning the loyalty
of the labor party without committing the
state to economic experiments and respon-
sibilities which the official liberals and the
fndividualist libeyals-of whom there are
many-regard as inexpedient and even
dangerous? 1t is worthy of note that these
problems of Unemployment and poverty
with which labor is concerned are questions
indissolubly bound up with the economic
issues raised by Mr.. Chamberlain. And 1t
is worthy of note that the above questions
are being raised on all sides In all parts of
the united kingdom Some of the con-
servatives are saying Mr.. Balfour is not
greatly concerning himself about the pos
sibilities of defeat because he we'll knows
that the liberals and their allies cannot
hope to remain in Office many months. On
the other hand. there are liberals who
acknowledge that 1t would hardly be worth
the while for their party to come Into the
control of the government only to lose
possession of the prize In few weeks or
few months.
1t Is remarkable that the average man,
whether Of conservative or liberal tenden-
cies, no matter what part of the united
kingdom he halls from, admits that the tri-
umph of the liberals in the rapidly APP
preaching general elections is a probability
On the other hand 1t appears as though
the average man, though admitting the
probabilities of conservative defeat, also
admits that it is likely that the liberals
will not long be able to maintain them
selves In the control Of the government In
any event. This Is fair analysis of the
concensus of the opinions of the voters of
the British Isles or course, to hear the
political leaders and the politicians talk.
one would think that the fate of his majes-
Hing he hal