The Irish standard., 1911-01-07
ELECTIONS SUCCEEDED
BY POLITICAL QUIET
In the Meantime the German War
Scare is Brought Forth and
Given an Airing.
The Foremost Question Now is, Will
Five Hundred New Peers
be Created?
Home Rule Bill, it is Thought, Will
Follow Passage of the
Veto Measure.

The Christmas truce, so far as i'll
ternal politics is concerned, still en-
lists. Most of the cabinet ministers
lave LETT London and are slowly re-
covering from the gigantic fatgues
of the general election.
Premier Asquith, who has a certain
scorn for the world OF politicians,
hides himself as usual in the wilds Of
Scotland; and Lloyd-George, moro
genial and gregarious and always fond
OF scamper on the Continent, is
nursing a severe cold at Monte Carlo.
Winston Churchill has enough to
occupy him in the heavy tide Of dis
asters, especially in the Lancashire
ic caused by the Russian murders at
Houndsditch.
War Scare is Revived.
| Thus for the moment robbed of
subjects of actute interest at home.
the London journals seek topics else
where, and Satan finds for their idle
hands and those of the German press
some evil work to do in the revival
OF the jingo recriminatlons.
For instance, England's strong in
tervention in Persia to prevent the
illicit gun running and highway rob.
berry elicits snorts from the anglo
phobe Berlin journals that England
is trying the same game in Persia
that France did in Morocco.
The innocent observation of Lloyd
George that he has sufficient money
from the new taxes to spend plenty
of money in maintaining the English
naval supremacy produces wild out
burst from the professional German
navy scarers.
AS to the coming parliament, tho
swearing in starts on the last day of
January The fixing OF so early a
date is one of the many signs that
the ministry means business and still
|
veto before the coronation.
Chancellor Lloyd-George, in an in.
terview with the French Journalists,
scouts the idea of second confer
ence or of another election, and speaks
of the veto struggle as practically
closed by the last decisive election.
Sir Charles Dixie, who as an in.
dependent member, takes more de.
tached view and who is a shrewd and
experienced politician, also agrees
that the veto struggle is over and
that the lords will accept the minis
terial bill
Home Rule Coming Early.
Dixie also anticipates that Irish
Home Rule will be the first business
after the passage of the veto.
In the meantime the Ulster Orange.
men are playing their old game of
threatening civil war. They make
bellicose speeches, recommend the
drill and the purchase of arms and
bogus advertisements in the German
papers ask for a supply of cheap guns
All inquiries by the police fail tc
materialize either the drill or arms
and the whole thing is shown as q
ridiculous attempt to frighten the
public opinion in England.
Numerous deaths of aviators comG
as a climax to a singularly gloomy
Christmastide and some people sug
gest that this should be known as the
black Christmas.
Will 500 new peers be created
That is the question that is puzzlina
many people. 1t is not the frst time
in history that British Liberal cab
inc has had to face this contingency
that is, not in SO aggravated a
shape.
When the ministry of Lord Grey in
1892 brought in the reform bill-the
first measure to destroy the rotten
borough system-the lords threw Il
out and threatened to repeat the op
Grafton. Grey then got King William
very unwillingly, to give him a con
ditional promise that he would create
enough peers to carry the measure
and 1t was the threat of this catas