Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1910-01-24

WILL CONTROL
GREAT BRITAIN
Irish Party to Have Bal
ance of Power in the
House of Commons
POPULAR VOTE TIED
Two Big Factions Each Sc
cure 218 SeatS-Situa-
ton Perplexing
POPULAR VOTE TIED
Associated Pressl
Il ONDON, Jan. 2S.-Never in the re,
.11.-a.-- -..1.As..so

lASSOclaJeQ PfeSSi
II ONDON, Jan. 2s.-Never in the rec
1 objection of the Oldest politician
- have the British parties been in
such a perplexing position as they are
today.
SO evenly divided will be the menu
bership of the next house of commons
and so close is the popular vote that
the result of the elections for all prac-
tical purposes may be considered tie.
No human mind can divine which of
the questions before the electors had
the most influence at the polls, or
whether the results mean the people
demand tariff reform. are loyal to the
lords, anxious to reject Chancellor
Lloyd Georges budget, or whether all
three of these had an equal effect.
Under these circumstances neither
party wants the responsibility of the
attempt to legislate, and since a divis-
ion must be close the Unionists are bet
ter satisfied to be in opposition than
to have won by a small majority.
Mr.. Balfour'S speeches show plainly
that, with existing conditions, he is
glad not to have control of the gov
ernment. Premier Asquith would be
equally pleased to escape the perils of
plotting the party through the troubled
waters. There are precedents for him
to ask the king to summon another
leader to form the cabinet, but no one
expects him to haul down his flag.
Another Election Predicted
All prophets predict the new cabinet
will find itself in the minority within a
year and that the country will plunge
into another general election.
The remarkable figures recorded at
this stage of the balloting foreshadow
clearly how nearly equal both the pop
ular vote and the membership of the
house of commons will be divided be-
tween the two great factions. The
popular vote stands:
| Unionists, 2,565,627; Liberals, 1884,
315; Laborites, 395,115.
This gives the united Liberal-Labor
party a majority of 153,803 in a total
vote of 5,2S5, ,157.
Today the membership of the house
of commons is tie, the Unionists and
the combined Liberals and Labor par
ty each having elected 21S representa-
tives.
One hundred and sixty-seven seats
remain to be filed, of which 102 are
English. In the last parliament these
We're: Unionists, SO; Liberals, 115; Ma
tionalists, 16.
Should the present trend of voting
continue, neither the Unionists nor
the Liberals can muster a majority
Nationalists, with SO votes, will be
masters of the situation.
Peers and Irish Will Dominate
The peers and the Irish will be the
dominating forces of the next parlia-
.ment.s.
Pfepgfer Asquith has two battles to
fight TO reform the lords and to pass
the budget which failed and the budget
for the coming ear. The prospect is
that both the peers and the Nation
alists will vote for the budgets.
The house of lords can be reformed
only by a bill which the lords must
swallow. They may deny that the
country has given a mandate for this.
The Unionists insist the elections have
not proved the country desires a
change in the historic status of the
upper house. They argue a bare ma
jority is not enough. No country with
written constitution, such as the
United States, they point out, can
make such changes by a mere ma
jority.
The position of the Nationalists is
unique. With them all questions are
subservient to homo rule Tariff re-
formers claim the Irish are all pro-
tectionists, if they could vote that is
sue without complications. National
lists in the last parliament declared
they were opposed to increased whisky
taxes, but they would probably help
it through the next house as measure
of political strategy.
Home rule is not likely to get far
next session, according to well versed
politicians, because the reform of the
house of lords, which the prime minis
ter has written at the head of his
program, promises a great struggle.
John Redmond, leader of the Irish
Nationalists, will be almost as inn
portant as the premier, because Mr..
Asquith can do nothing without him.
The Conservatives believe the older
wing of the Liberal party, represented
by Premier Asquith, War Secretary
Haldane and Foreign Secretary Gray,
now repent having permitted radicals
like David Lloyd-George and Winston
Spencer Churchill, to commit the party
to a budget that is so far ON the road
to what their opponents term Socialism.
Liberals claim their enemies are
trembling in their boots lest they find
the government on their hands, with
the necessity of raising revenues for
old age pensions and larger navy,
and at the same time attempting to
adopt protection.
The surprise Of the campaign has
been that the manufacturing centers,
with a few exceptions, have gone for
free trade, while the squirearchies
shifted to the protection party.
Bitter Struggle Expected
The Conservatives are convinced this
campaign is the first milestone in q
bitter struggle in which history will re-
peat itself, and in which their party
will return to power by gradual steps.
as it has in the past whenever disas-
trously overthrOwn--a struggle that
will firmly establish imperialism and
protection.
That the struggle is bitter even now
there IS no question. The one-time
chivalrous. atmosphere of British poll
tics has been wonderfully changed. So
much personal feeling and SO many
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