Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-02-22

| London, Feb. 21.-Ihe players in the
| game, of politics threw their cards up
on the table in the House of Commons
today The government is without the
| allies necessary to carry legislation
and the present prospect is that the
country will be stirred up by another
! general election within a few months.
| Premier Asqulth announced that the
| financial legislation would be put
| ahead of the proposals to curb the
| power of the House of Lords. John E.
Redmond, the Irish leader, declared
| fatty that the Nationalists would not
| support that program. The Laboritcs
are holding meeting to decide their
| course. They probably will follow in
the footsteps of the Irish members.
| The government may be able to
adopt the budget by the grace of the
| Conservatives, who possibly will vote
| for it in order to avert financial chaos
| and keep the wheels of the empire
| turning. But the enactment of the
| budget will, as Mr.. Redmond pointed
out, leave the winning cards in the
| hands of the Lords. who then will be
free to reject the bill for the reforma-
ton of their house and force another
election.
The meeting of Parliament today
was a momentous one, for the cabinets
| policy was not revealed to the coun-
| try until the moment Premier Asquith
| took the floor. Seldom in the history Of
the House of Commons have the pro-
| credings been watched with more in
tense interest by the small but dis
| tirguished assembly of spectators
who were able to gain admission and
the millions who depended upon news
papers for their information.
| Mr. Redmond and his Irish col
colleagues controlled the course of
| events. His pronouncement that the
| Irish members would not support the
prime minister was the sensation OF
| the day and it appetrs to have settled
| the administration fate. 1t is reported
| that 25 Radicals have declared their
| intention of supporting Mr.. Redmond
| against the governments course ana
| 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 recog-
ni.e in the speech the nature and gray
itv of the state of trade and employ
| ment.
One clause in the Kings speech is
regarded as most significant referring
to the proposed reform of the House
of Lords the speech contains the quail
flying clause. in the opinion OF my
| advisers" which is interpreted as
i meaning that the King wants 10 as
sociate himself from such proposals
Prince Henry of Prussia rode IN the
royal procession and attended farila
| nent. He appeared in the uniform OF a
| British admiral and the crowds gave
| him a reception less warm than mem
hers of visiting royal families usually
| receive
| Arthur J. Balfour spoke for the Op-
position. He criticized the hlhs
speech for it's ambiguity. particularly
on the naval question. He had hopeu
| for a declaration that the government
was prepared to face the situation ana
provide everything necessary for the
defence of the empire. The general
election had been primarily on the
|
| the country had pronounced.
| when the budget he said, mas
received a cold and chilly but numerl-
cally adequate support in this Rouse
lit will doubtless become law. L pc
Ilieve that the majority of the consult
luencies in Great Britain are prepared
| TO support the budget, but can 1t be
pretended that Ireland favors it? If
ireland abstains from opposing the
budget il will be because the Irish
members think that the interests Of
Home Rule override those of finance
and I hold that if the budget were iso-
lated from all other questions it would
be rejected.
| "If the prime ministers Home Rule
declaration, made just before the cleo
ton. had been taken seriously in Eng
land, as it was in Ireland, the other
questions all would have been dwarf
| ed"
Mr.. Balfour said that he had had
104 speeches of cabinet members ex-
Iamined and only one OF them contain
ed a voluntary reference to Home Rule.
The government wanted the effect of
the prime minister's declaration to be,
as the doctor says, local, not consti-
tutional. The Lords and all parties in
the House of Commons wanted the re-
form of the House of Lords. The labor
party wanted to abolish the House of
Lords altogether. The Nationalist
and the English and Scotch members
wanted reform of the constitution.
The Irish wanted to get out of the M
stitution entirely Looking under the
surface, how could the government say
that they know what was the opinion
of the country on any one of the great
Issues before them.