The Irish standard., 1911-07-22
Tory Hotheads Bent on Driving
Leaders to Pursue Fight to
it's Bitter End.
Despite This Fact Nobody is TAX
ing the Prolonged Farce
Seriously.
Hardly Probable That King will be
Called Upon to Create 500
New Peers.

The gallery has conquered for the
moment in the tory ranks. While nine
out of ten of the tory members OF the
house of commons denounce openly
any policy which will bring another
election, while the Daily Telegraph
calls on the peers to drink the hem
lock- like Socrates, while successive
by-elections prove that there is no
change whatever in the opinion of the
country, and while the final surrender
is clearly as inevitable as ever, Lans-
downe and Balfour have been driven
by the hotheads Of their own party to
pursue the fight with the commons to
the bitter end, says T. P. O'Connor in
his weekly cable to the Chicago Tri-
bune under London date of July Is.
Nobody seriously minds When the
farce was prolonged from three weeks
to five, the people yawned and when
it was further prolonged to fifteen acts
it left the people too bored even to
make pretense of listening.
To make the ridiculous situation
even more ridiculous, an appeal now is
issued for funds to sustain the agita-
tion in defense of the house of lords
What little prestige was left this dy-
ing, decadent aristocracy was finally
destroyed by this last attitude of sub.
missive and terrified mendacity.
Asquith's Path Easier.
fooleries make no difference in the
essentials Of the situation. On the
contrary, the action of the lords make
the path Of Premier Asquith easier If
the liberals were inclined to make any
concessions, the latest performances of
the peers, showing the same unreason-
able arrogance and the same obstinate
clinging to the last remnants of their
power and even going to the length OF
demand for greater omnipotence
than ever, has exhausted the opinion
that Asquith would be swept out of ex-
istence if he even suggested any
yielding to their demands.
When the veto bill, then, comes back
to the house of commons, Asquith will
have to act promptly and relentlessly.
He will propose the rejection of every
amendment made by the house Of lords,
big and little, momentous and trif1ing,
and will fling the bill back in their
faces just as it left the house of COM
MONS
1t has been suggested that the tor
les want to drive Asquith to declare
that he has guarantees from the king
which will enable him 70 create new
peers. 1t is difficult to see how this
can improve the position of the tories.
The king has all along insisted that
the liberal ministers shall not intro
duce his name into the struggle and
will assuredly not thank the tories for
quith is driven to extremities.
Asquith Will Be Ready.
l do not even now think the peers
will be created, but such incredibly
foolish things have been done by the
doomed and bewildered aristocracy
during the last two years that evep
such step may be forced on Asquith.
Even this will find Asquith ready. Be-
yond a doubt the full list of 500 new
peers is already made out. This task
was accomplished without much diff
Guilty, az the liberals still count an i'm
mense number of wealthy men in their
ranks and the universities and other
seats of learning can supply large
number of acceptable legislators.
The good reception Of the king and
queen in Ireland has much improved
the home rule prospects. 1t is signifi-
can't that Lord Dunraven, though a
protectionist and follower Of William
O'Brien, selects this moment to issue
an eloquent plea for home rule.
The insurance bill is making moro
rapid progress than anybody expected
and Lloyd George, openly and without
contradiction, declared that it would
pass into law in this session.
The copyright bill also has passed
through committee and now is certain
Of enactment this year. bringing many
Al u 4