Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-23
NO HELP FROM NATIONALISTS
British Government Without Allies to
Garry Legislation.
AsoUITH PUTS BUDGET FIRST
Richmond says This VIII Leave Lords
StiH I'm Position to Dictate
LRborites Are Expected 10
Follow Irish.

the table in House Of Commons yesterday
The government is without the allies nee
essary to carry legislation, and the pres
ent prospect is that the country will be
stirred up by another general election
within a few months.
Premier Asquith announced that the IL
nancial legislation will be put ahead of
the proposals to curb the power OF the
House Of Lords. John +. Redmond. the
Irish leader, declared fatty that the ma
tionalists would not support that program.
The laborites are holding a meeting to de-
eide their course. They probably will fol-
low in the footsteps of the Irish members.
The government may be able to adopt
the budget by the grace of the conserva-
tlves who possibly will vote for it in or
der to avert financial chaos and keep the
wheels Of the empire turning. But the.
enactment of the budget will, as Mr.. Red
mond pointed out, leave the winning cards
In the hands of the lords, who then will
be free to reject the bill for the reforming
Of their house and force another election.
The meeting of Parliament today was an
important one for the policy OF the cabinet
was not revealed to the country Until the
moment Premier Asquith took the floor.
Seldom in the history Of the House of
Commons has its proceedings been
watched with more intense interest by the
small but distinguished assembly Of spec
tators who were able to gain admission, or
the millions who depend upon the news
papers for their Information.
Irish Control Events.
Mr.. m and his Irish colleagues
controlled the course of events. His pro-
nouncement that the Irish members would
not support the prime minister was the
I-on-atto, 90 tba 1ov or5 a. ornaars e.. haua
settled the Administrations fate. 1t is re-
ported that $50 radicals nave declared their
intention of supporting Mr.. Redmond against
the governments course and that great
pressure is being brought to bear from the
radicals to induce Mr.. Asquith to resign
forthwith.
Austen Chamberlain will propose an
amendment to the kings speech in favor
Of tariff reform and imperial preference, at
the same time deploring the failure of the
ministers to recognize in the speech the
nature and gravity of the state of trade
and employment.
l The kings speeches usually are prosaic
but one clause in his speech today is re-
garded as most significant. Referring &c
the proposed reform of the House of Lords
the speech contained the qualifying clause
in the opinion of my advisers"
This is Interpreted as meaning that the
king wants to disassociate himself from
such proposals.
BRIfOur for Opposition.
Arthur Balfour spoke for the opposition
He criticised the kings speech for its am.
, biguity, particularly on the navy question
He had hoped, he said. for a declaration
that the government was prepared to face
the situation and provide anything neces
sary for the defense of the empire. The
general election had been primarily on the
budget, he said, and he was not quite sur,
what the country had pronounced,
when the budget" said Mr.. Balfour
: has received cold and chilly but numer
: ically adequate support in this house 1
! will doubtless become a law. We believ,
that the majority of the constituencies II
Great Britain are prepared to support tn,
: budget, but can 1t be pretended that Ire
land favors 1t? II Ireland abstains from
opposing the budget 1t will be because tn,
: Irish members think that the interests o
home rule override these Of finance, and
hold that If the budget were isolated from
all other questions it would be rejected.
"If tho prime minister's home rule dec
l~aration, made just before the election, hat
been taken seriously in England, as it wa
in Ireland, the other questions would al
have been dwarfed."
Continuing Mr.. Balfour said that he ha,
v 149 speeches of cabinet members exam
q ined and only one OF them contained
IL voluntary reference to home rule.
n Looking under the surface, how coul
Ia the government say that they knew wha
"a was the opinion of the country on any on
o Of the great issues before them?
Mr.. Balfour closed by questioning whethe
,e 1t was possible to entrust solely to a. rep
n resentative assembly the power of manip
ulating from top to bottom the whole con
s~titution of the country. They would b
mad indeed If they drove to this iIlogica
excess the idea that for all purposes an
N for all time the House of COMMONS coul
be taken to represent the settled convic
&c tons of the people.
Asquith Answers BaIfOur.
Mr.. Asquith, in rising to reply, was loudl
cheered. He supposed that the king
- speech was the shortest on record. Apar
p from the flnancia provision the only ques
ton on which the government announce
legislation was the relations between tn
, two houses. Nothing more would be in
troduced this session.
- 1.-THE House of Lords" said the premier
" last year rejected the budget-a glarin
=, breach of the unwritten conventions Of tn
~ legislation that was the climax of a serie
Of acts by which the lords claimed an over
riding authority of the decisions Of tn
popular chamber, and the government
appeal to the country was primarily an ap
peal to give them authority to put an en-
to this state of affairs.
II nave said that we must have legisla
tive safeguards, but some OF my friend
say that 1 talked about guarantees of tn
exercise OF the royal prerogative. If l ha
said such a thing l would not now b
standing at this box. 1 received no sue
guarantees. / asked for no such guaran
tees. 1t is the duty Of a responsible min
lister, as far as possible, to keep the nam
Of the sovereign and the prerogative o
the crowd outside the domain Of party pol
tiles"
To ask in advance for Indefinite authorit
to use the royal prerogative in a measur
not yet submitted to the house was a re
quest, Mr.. Asquith declared, a mlniste
could not properly make.
III the prime minister gives us reason
able assurance that he viii be able to carr
the veto bill into law this year" said Mi
Redmond, 1--WE will vote for the bulge.
but we are not willing to pay the price 70
nothing"
.ENuEI AnF I0Ea.-,E.H