The Detroit times., 1910-12-10


the constitution OF the greatest ma
lion ON earn mad no standing in law,
bur with the spirit of confidence III
nuhlic servants SO characteristic OF
the British people. practically all ais
cussion of this great question: was
stopped. Ii was Truce of God. WIN
charming simplicity the Briush EN-
pire delegated its future To eisht men
and called them The Conference Soihe'
times someone would say Cohs'itu
tional Conference. but usually the one
word with its capital &c was sum
Cient.
The Conference met twenty-five
times. Not a word leaked out OF the
council chamber. The whole hation
waited breathlessly for the ueclslon'
but il also waited patiently ana with
confidence. The British people were
divided into two camps and each camp
was represented in the parley by iour
men AS matter OF fact there was
not the slightest chance for an asree-
ment. The question under cohsldeta'
| ton was fundamental If one OF the
! four Radicals had wavered, the ue'
mocracy of the nation would have torn
| him limb from limb II one of the
/ Tories had capitulated in the shshl-
est material matter, the aristocracy OF
Britain would have drunk his blood.
| -inally the end came. The Prime
! Minister announced through the press
J In four lines of type the fact that the
| Conference had come 10 no agreement
The truce was ended and matters
we're back where they stood wheif
death claimed Edward VII. and ele'
! vated George V. To the throne. ne
/ Liberal government Was unwiliihs 30
proceed TO it's business OF Legislation
unless IL was assured that IL hau d
! chance OF passing It's measures INTO
! law With the House OF Lords con
/ trolled by an overwhelming majority
Ut Tories there was no such chance
under the existing Constitution. me
| Commons had won before the people
I'm their contention that they might
control the money bills. But the gov
| eminent was not content TO go on
unless its powers were enlarged so
that il might consider other matters
| of legislation with some reasonable
/ none of success. The Parliament re
assembled and the Veto Bill was
! brought out
The Prime Minister. with that d.
rectness impossible in an American
! statesman who is slave TO the calei-
dar said the Conference had ialled
and that there was no use IN Keeping
mn the farce any longer. Either the
peoples chosen representatives nan
/ the right and power To leslsiate OF
! they did not have the right and power.
| The bill giving them that power, SUD
rect to the dilatory, but not conclusive
| veto of the upper chamber. was sent
| 10 the Lords The Lords Ignored the
| bill and countered by proposing q
| scheme for the reform OF the upper
| chamber. voluntarily abandoning the
| hereditary principle In part and max
ing sweeping concessions with respect
In the form OF their house. But their
concessions were not such as to con
| vince the Liberals that they would
| result I'm the control of the house by
! any Other than the aristocratic ana
| plutocratic elements now dominant
| there The Radicals desired To end,
nor mend. the second chamber in Is
present character.
| Sn the Lords passed their reform
resolutions and the Commons passed
their Veto" bill. each house ignored
he action Of the other and the king.
Nv advice of his ministers. dissolved
the parliament and the campaign for
q general election was on.
! In the Conference the Liberals
were represented by three common
ere and peer the Conservatives by
TWO peers and two commoners. The
| Radical members were Mr. Asquitl,
| Mr.. Lloyd-George. Lord Crewe and
4 IT
Mr.. Balfour, Lord Lansdowne. Lord
| Cawdor and Mr. Austen Chamberlain.
! But whether mobiles or commoners.
the eight men divided. as Englishmen
will. with reference TO the substance
and not the form of things. LORD
Crewe. Judged by his record as the
! leader of the government in the House
OF Lords. is well-nigh as radical a
| Democrat as is Mr. Lloyd-George him
! self Mr.. Balfour. although com
moner, is OF the Cecil blood and an
aristocrat who sincerely and honestly
| believes that the triumph OF the demo
cratic forces would mean the end OF
all that Is great and glorious and good
I'm England
If the Conference had had under
consideration political quarrel,
financial question. Il social problem.
or anything other than fundamental
constitutional issue. there is little
doubt but that compromise would
have been reached. The Englishman
swears by compromise. Ii repre-
SCENTS the fair-play doctrine OF give
and.take and II is by series ot com
PROMISES that John Bull has cement
cd the stones of his unmatched ma
tional edifice. The British Constltli-
ton is nothing more than series OF
COMPROMISES. more often expressed
in gentlemen's agreements than In
official proclamatiors. The King Il
hound to- act by the advice OF his
ministers as result of long series
of compromises in which the Crown
gradually gave mp one after another OF
it's prerogatives in exchange Tor the
boon of it's peTpetuation.
The most difficult purely political
problem i'm British affairs is the Irish
question. ireland has been ruled
against its will by the English for =
matter of seven hundred years. A lit.
tie more than century ago it's sep