The Irish standard., 1911-05-13

ASqulth may consent to some cOmprO-
mise, but each of these hopes is equal.
ly false. The king is bound by his
written guarantees to follow Asquith's
advice and Asquith is bound by honor.
as we'll as by his dependence on the
Irish vote, to stand by home rule.
Churchill Leads House.
One might have thought some time
ago that Winston Churchill had en-
hausted the possibilities of surprise in
his astonishing career. To have done
all he had already done while still
we'll under 40 was to have already
marked out his career as one of the
most astounding in English political
history. But he has now added an
other surprise, he has "led" the house
Ut commons and he has led it we'll.
In this as in other epochs of his ca
rcer, Winston has been favored to
some extent by good fortune. The
leadership of the house of commons
falls in direct descent, according to
what | may call hierarchical rules.
The first leader is, OF course, the
gentleman who is for the moment
prime minister, or who holds the first
position in the house of commons in
his party. MIR. Balfour, for instance,
was leader Of the house for several
years before he became prime min
lister; Lord Salisbury was his chief,
but Lord Salisbury was in the house
of lords and Mr.. Balfour was the
leading figure in the house of COM
mons and, as such, took the place of
leader. He held the place for years
afterward when he had succeeded his
uncle as prime minister.
The second command in any minis
try is the gentleman who happens for
the moment to be chancellor Of the
exchequer. Thus when Campbell
Bannerman was prime minister and
Mr. Asquith was chancellor of the ex-
chequer, it was right Of Mr.. Asquith
to lead the house of commons when
ever Campbell Bannermann was I'M
able to do So Campbell Bannermann
was i'll several months, as everybody
knows. before he died, and during
these months Mr.. Asquith was always
in command of the house. This was
one of the many reasons why Asquith's
succession to the premiership became
inevitable. Then when Asquith be.
came prime minister and Lloyd George
was created chancellor of the exche-
quer, Lloyd George took up the lead
ership of the house whenever AS
quith was absent.
1t is open to some doubt which
other cabinet minister has the third
place in the hierarchy. The foreign
secretary might claim it; the home
secretary might claim it; even the
secretary Of war might claim it. All
the officers are what are called Sec
retaryships of state, and, as such, are
entitled to equal rank in the first row
of cabinet offices. l assume that when
ii competition of this kind arises, it
is largely decided by the personal
characteristics of the rivals. If Sir
Edward Grey, who is now foreign Sec
rotary, were man to push his claims,
I have little doubt that he might have
demanded the third place in the hier
archy and in that way have been the
third in succession to the leadership
Of the house. But Sir Edward Grey,
although one OF the most powerful
of the members Of the government, is
one of the most reserved and self
obscured; he rarely is to be seen in
the house of commons at all; in fact,
never except when he has to answer
questions or defend votes or policies
connected with his own department.
No human being has even know him
to pay a visit to the smokeroom or
any Of the other resorts where men,
bers meet together and forget political
differences over cigar or a whiskey
and soda.
Like everybody else Sir Edward
Grey has to pass through the division
lobby whenever division is called;
but he rushes through it as though he
were afraid Of catching the plague
And it might be said with some little
exaggeration that he Is scarcely known
even by sight to the majority of the
members of the present house OF COM
mons. This is not the man to press
his claims to anything. And yet what
an extraordinary powerful figure he
Is has been proven by the resounding
echoes Of his speech suggesting an ar.
bitration treaty between England and
America.
Lloyd Georges illness.
The question of who should be third