Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1910-01-12

dent, the Tories will be placed on
equal terms with the Liberals and
will exercise only so much power
and for such period as the people
leave them in Office. j
II the Tories win. the House OF
Lords will be invested by popular
sanction with autocratic power.
Their action in usurping the cleo
tive chambers control over finance
will have been approved. The Lib
eral party will not only be defeated,
but disrupted. The moderate sec.
tion, who are only following Mr..
LloydlGeorge and Mr.. Winston
Churchill because It looks winning
game. will spare no time in denounc-
ing them as the authors OF the
party's misfortune II 1t should turn
out to be a losing one. When Glad
stone was routed In 1886 1t virtual
ly gave the Tories the upper hand
for twenty years. II the Liberals
are badly beaten this time the con-
sequence may prove equally disas-
trous. The moderates would secede
to the Tories and new Radical
party would be formed, to renew
the fight, under highly discouraging
conditions, by Mr.. Lloyd-George and
Mr.. Churchill.
These are two Of the most remark
able men that English politics have
evolved in a generation. There has
been nothing quite like them before.
They are both gifted with the most
absolute courage. But what distin-
guishes them more than that from
the ruck of able politicians is their
entire absence OF all reverence for
the fetishes which even Liberals and,
Radicals have been wont to worship.
They are not awed by rank; they
are totally Indifferent to social in
fiuences; they attack with light
heart the 'strongholds OF entrenched
wealth.
The policy that is now before the
country is ostensibly the policy of
the Cabinet. 1t Is in reality the pol
icy forced on the Cabinet of Lloyd
George and winston Churchill after
many tough fight and more than
one ultimatum from them threaten
ing resignation. Now that the pol
icy has been acclaimed by the party
and has placed It in a position OF
aggressive strength that enables II
to face a general election with the
prospect OF great triumph, It has
become the policy Of united Cabi-
net. A year ago II the Tories had
been able to force a general election
they would have showed the Liberals
under. The improved standing OF
the Liberal party is due to the bud
get that Lloyd-George and Winston
Churchill compelled the Cabinet ma
jority to accept.
They were not, Of course, in mi
nority Of two in this struggle. They
had the support almost throughout
of Lord Morley. Mr.. Lewis Harcourt,
Mr.. Birrell and the late Marquis OF
Ripon, though at times they were
left to fight their corner alone. Mr..
Asquith. 1 IL understood, has main
tanned a jud. .ial attitude, but, Gu
riously eno Ugh, the opposition to
some OF the budget proposals in the
Cabinet-notably the tax on unde-
veloped land-was led by Mr.. John
Burns.
The constitutional question be-
tween the Lords and Commons seems
to interest the electors less than the
fiscal question that lies behind It.
The issue In this respect is also
clearly dehned, SO that II Is intelll-
gible to the meanest comprehension
The Tories, IL returned, intend to
giving preference to the colonies,
promising that by SO doing they will
stop unemployment and increase the
rate of wages.
The Liberals say that they pro-
pose to tax the superfluities of the
rich, while the Tories want to tax
the. necessities Of the poor. Unfor-
tunately for the Tories, at time
when 1t is of vital Importance to
them that trade should be going
down, 1t persists in showing ten
dency to improve. Unemployment.
which was. to have been their strong
card, and was one of the reasons why
they forced the election In the hard
winter months. is much less acute
than It was last year. The fates ire
not working for them. The attempt
to revive the German scare Is not
meeting with the same success as on