Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-03
SLAP AT PEERS BY COMMONS
Lower Body Passes Asquith Motion
Charging Usurpation of Power.
ELECTIONS TO COME NEXT MONTH
Premier ia Given Denomination as
He Rises to Speak and Delivers n
Singing Rebuke to Lords
for Rejecting Budget.

LONDON, Dec. 2.-The House Of Com
mons, by a vote of $40 to 19l. today passed
the resolution Of Premier Asquith to the
effect that in rejecting the governments
budget bill the House Of Lords had COM
mitted a breach of the constitution and
usurped the rights of the House of Com
mons.
Arthur Henderson, leader OF the labor
party in the House OF Commons, an
nounced that the government would have
the whole-hearted support of the laborites.
1t is understood this Parliament will be
dissolved, so as TO permit the holding Of
elections between January 10 and 20. The
prorogation will take place tomorrow.
King VIII Dissolve Parliament.
Premier Asquith announced in the
House Of Commons today that the gov
eminent had advlsed King Edward
to dissolve Parliament and that his
majesty had accepted the invitation. The
premier added that If the liberals were re-
turned to power the first act Of the gov
eminent would be the re-enactment Of all
the taxes for which provision was made in
the budget rejected Dy the House Of Lords.
All the preliminaries to the great political
battle are being cleared away this after
loon at Sandringham, where the king held
a meeting with the privy council during
which he signed an order proroguing Par
lament until January II, 1910.
The fixing of this date was a mere for
mality, as before that time the present
house will have been dissolved.
The center of interest today was the
House of Commons, where Premier AS
Quith on behalf Of his government deliv-
cred the reply to the action of the lords
Withholding their consent upon the budget.
The house was crowded with member
and the galleries were filled with lords,
diplomats and other distinguished person.
ages. The ministers and unlonist leaders,
including A. ]. Balfour. who had suffi-
ciently recovered from an indlsposition to
take part in the debate, entered the cham
Der during the course of the routine busl-
ness and were received with cheers by their
supporters.
The natlOnallsts, who had decided not
to participate in the debate or division,
were conspicuous by their absence.
Demonstration for Asquith.
Premier Asquith's first words as he rose
amid the widest demonstration of en-
thusiasm to move the resolution Of which
he had given notice on Tuesday. were:
we are meeting this afternoon under
circumstances without example in the his
tory Of the British Parliament.
THE prime minister pointed out that in
opening Parliament the king had invited
the House Of Commons alone to make
provision for the heavy additional expendi-
lures In view OF the necessities in the way
OF social reform and the national defense,
The budget was the result and It repre-
scented, he said, in a greater degree than
could be said of any other measure uf
"our time" the deliberate work of an over
whelming majority of the representatives
of the people.
fabric had been thrown to the ground by
a body which, admittedly, had no power
to increase or decrease a single tax.
with much emphasis, Premier Asauith
declared that the House OF Common would
prove unworthy of it's traditions if Il al
lowed a single day to pass without making
clear that it did not mean to brook this
grave indignity and arrogant u]surpation OF
its rights.
The session Of Parliament was closing
the premier said, without a financial act,
and, until fresh provision could be made
the necessities Of state could be supplied
only through borrowing.
He expressed the hope that the ultimate
loss to the government would not be great
but added so far as the present fiscal yeai
was concerned, II was obvious the result
OF the action Of the House OF Lords, mus
create the largest deficit yet faced.
His warnings, he said, had been unheedeC
and the responsibility OF the chaos and
1oae u,,at rasf With tha lords