The Irish standard., 1911-04-29
The Back of the Tory Resistance is
Broken and the Veto Fight is
Nearing an End.
Balfour Intervenes and Attempt to
Carry Filibustering to Ex-
treme is Crushed.
Opposition Yielding to Inevitable
Influence of King Thought to
be Responsible.

w 4SNOHO4oAOANs
The fight over the lords bill in the
commons will continue some ten or
twelve days more, but the lack OF
the tory resistance is broken and We
are near the end, says T. p. O'Connor
in his London cable to the Chicago
Tribune of April %. a
A. J. Balfour, leader of the opposi-
tion, has become moderate and has
restrained completely the hotheads of
his own party who wanted to carry
the tilibustering to the extreme linn
it's. Their attitude suggested the rum
or that Balfour had recognized that
the game was up and had yielded to
the pressure from the king to accept
the inevitable and allow the new
reign to start with some suspension
of the bitter international conflict.
This approach of the beginning of the
end comes to light at the moment that
dreary repetition of daily filibustering
speeches had begun to tell on the spir-
its of the liberal members.
The attendance had become so
slack that the normal government
majority sank from 120 to SO and COM
plants became FREQUENT that Premier
Asquith might proceed with a more
drastic and steam roller closure. In
the midst of pause of the transient
decentralization conflict burst this
week abruptly into full blaze. The
relentless fighting spirit of this
transformation brought about magnifi-
cent impromptu speeches by Premier
Asquith. On Thursday night answer
ing several attempts OF the tories to
exclude all kinds of measures from
the operation of the veto bill and
especially home rule, Asquith boldly
described the veto bill simply as a
means to an end.
Home Rule Bill Sought.
One of the ends contemplated, he
said, was the passage of a home rule
bill over the opposition of the house OF
lords.
This outspoken declaration in favor
Of home rule and a final and irrevoca-
BILE pledge to introduce it next year
produced an immense sensation in the
house of commons.
When Asquith had finished, the
liberals cheered themselves hoarse
the Irish Joined in and Asquith was
declared universally TO have made
the greatest speech OF his entire ca
reer.
Such speech, after the weary re-
sistance of the tories and their fill
clustering gave the necessary FLIP to
the fighting spirit of the liberal and
Irish ranks.
Balfour only added fuel to the fire
by his shrll and ineffective attack
and by his laborious and futile at
tempts to prove that home rule was
not an issue at the last election.
Fight to be Renewed.
On next Monday the night over home
rule will be renewed and once more
Asquith and Balfour will have a re-
newal of the fierce duel. All of these
reiterated debates on home rule are
regarded by the 1risnman as of i'm
mense assistance to the Irish cause.
The tories, by insisting on debating
home rule this year, will prepare the
public mind of England and discount
many of the bogeys and the preju-
dices which might have stood in the
way of home rule.
Indeed the opinion is steadily gaining
ground that the fight against home
rule will be like the fight against the
veto bill; that is to say, fierce on the
surface but at the bottom q mere
sham to receive the face of the tories.
We are passing through a miniature
general election owing to deaths and
the various promotions in ranks of the
ministry. Up to the present the elec.
tion has showed no falling off in the
strength Of the government.
Indeed, though we are passing
through revolutionary crisis, the
country is steady in it's attitude of
complete apathy. No appeals, how
.