Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-20
LIKE FARCE COMEDY
No Mei0drama in British P0-
Iitical Situation.
ASQUITH MINISTRY SECURE
Opposition Powerless to Do Much
Else Than Talk Heroics.
SITUATION IS UNPRECEDENTED
Government Safety Apparently Lies
in the Remarkable Groupings of
Its Allies and Opponents.
ASQUITH MINISTRY SECURE
IS UNPRECEDENTED

Special Cabiegram to The Star.
LONDON. February 19.-The present
political situation in this country is a
fine farce comedy, which none Of the
heroics by some the principal actors
seems likely to turn into a melodrana.
The government has been roared at so
savagely this week by all its so-cailed
allies that the common people have be-
gun to think that the Asquith ministry
cannot possibly survive the first week
of the session. AS a matter of fact
nobody wants to hurt hair of the
governments head. least of all this OPP
position So far from desiring to drive
the ministry from office, it may be con-
fidently predicted that if the Irish ma
tionalists and the laborites should vote
against the cabinet next week sufficient
number of unionists would abstain from
voting to leave the ministers in the
majority
Not only are the leaders of all parties
opposed to another general election at the
present moment, but so is the country
itself, and there can be little doubt but
that the electors would punish any party
which was directly responsible for an
other appeal to the polls.
Government by Groups.
1t Is a reasonable Inference also that
an immediate election would again have
an indecisive result as regards an alb
solute majority In the house of COM
mons. 1t follows that Great Britain
might as we'll adapt herself to the almost
unprecedented condition of carrying on
a government by parliament of groups.
Germany, France and other continental
countries manage to got along under
such circumstances, and If the leaders of
the present discordant elements are wise
they will find moduS viyendi for carry
ing on the government, at least for a few
weeks until the financial and other essen
tial departments are put I'm running
order.
This necessity is SO obvious that it may
almost be assumed that IL will he ac-
complished despite the fact that at the
present writing the words and attitudes
OF the respective party leaders seem to
be entirely frreconsilable.
King Might Force Compromise.
Should deadlock arise, a curious chain
of events might follow. If Premier AS
q,nth resigns. the king, of course. will
send for Rt. Hon. Arthur J. Balfour. the
unionist> leader. His majesty would be
Obliged to say that he could not carry
on the present parliament and would sug-
gest dissolution. This would put new
and novel responsibility on the sovereign.
Dissolution is strictly a royal preroga-
tive, and knowing that the country's OPP
position might again be called to the polls
without any prospect of an essential
change in the result, the king might prop
erly insist that parliament should carry
on the government. Some compromise
would then become imperative and would
no doubt be reached. 1t is more than
probable that this compromise will be ar
rived at without the resignation of the
present cabinet and an appeal to the king
One report is that the question of CIV
ing precedence to the budget or the lords
veto power, which is the cardinal matter
in dispute, will be embodied i'm a reso-
luton which the government will intro
duce Monday before the debate on the
address In reply to the kings speech.
Dispose of Budget First.
The Irish nationalists, the laborites and
the extreme radicals would. of course,
vote for the lords veto, but they would
be in a hopeless minority, for the union
lists would vote unanimously with the
the budget before all else. 1t is rather
curious that many of the Irish and labor
members and some extreme radicals seri-
ously believed that Premier Asquith
would demand from King Edward before
the taking Office pledge that he would
create a sufficient number of peers to in
sure the passage of a bill which would
insure the limitation of the veto power
Of the lords. IL may be said authorita-
lively that Premier Asquith under no cir
cumstances would make such demands on
his majesty under the present anomalous
condition of the parties.
1t may also be assumed that such a re-
quest, if it were made, would be fatty re-
fused by the king.