Los Angeles herald., 1910-04-24
WAR Is BREWING
AROUND ASQUITH
John Redmond Says l'lsh Party Has
colIapsed-othsr Factions De-
clare Liberal Party Shat
tered md lr"potent

DUBLIN, April 23.-The Nationalist
i,nnroglio has reached something in the
nature of a crisis. There is talk OF
war to the knife against Prime Minis
ter Asauith. There are rumors or an
Imminent general election and threats
of all kinds. Unquestionably something
really serious has happened or Is about
to happen.
The Freeman's Journal publishes
long leading article entitled THE Shat
tered Liberal Party which gives one
the idea that the prime minister mas
brought the Liberal party, with It's
great majority, to position OF import
ance: while William O'Brien's journal,
the Cork Accent, declares in an equally
emphatic way that 1t is the official
Nationalist party which has collapsed.
The Freemans Journal is inspired py
Mr.. Redmond and his advisers, and for
this reason its announcements may De
taken as expressing the very latest
views of the party.
Can't Dodge Obligation
The Freemans Journal in Its edl-
torial saws: "The prime minister can
not escape personal responsibility for
the plight in which his party hndS IL
self. Whether he is guilty only OF care
lessness of speech or of the more serl-
ous offense of unfaithfulness In actlon,
makes little practical difference to his
party: the result to Liberalism Is the
same The people were rallied to sup
port one policy, the prime minister has
offered them another, and the founda-
tions upon which Liberal strength
rested are disappearing.
"There is in the history of British
politics no precedent Or parallel for
such a performance. We are not sur
nrised that the angrier spirits of the
liberal party are crying out that they
have been betrayed. They have not
been betrayed; they are only being de-
stroyed, they and the constitution they
were elected to defend and secure by
n paralysis of leadership in face of a
situation which nothing could save but
relentless and uncompromising courage
and devotion to the democratic cause.
"'In a supreme crisis of their rate
their leadership is being found want
ing. Let them imagine Gladstone at
the head of a democratic majority OF
l2O elected to curb the peers! They
have only to picture 1t to realize now
they are being served. They are rapid
w realizing it, and many of them are
coming to the conclusion that the re-
construction of the Liberal party Will
have to take precedence of the recon
struction of the house of lords"
Sentiment Raging
These men would save their party
while there is time. Mr.. Joseph Mar
tin, a former prime minister of British
Columbia. in a letter to the Times,
gives expression to a feeling that is
seething in the breasts of the party
and OF its supporters through the coun-
try. "The trouble" says Mr.. Martin,
'shas arisen because on December l0
Mr.. Asquith pledged himself, his gov
ernment and the Liberal party that he
would not assume office or hold office
unless he had secured the safeguards
which would enable him to face legls-
lation through the house of lords.
"Everyone understood that to refer to
the right to use the royal prerogative
of creating new peers so as to coerce
the house of lords. Mr.. Asquith and
his government have now repudiated
that pledge, and have expressly said
that it was never made.
"Every Liberal member elected is re-
leased from his allegiance to Mr..
Asduith and his colleagues. and should
now act in such way as to put the
liberal party right with it's supporters
An the country, and for this purpose 1t
would seem to be necessary to repu-
diate present party le@@~'r"l'