The Irish standard., 1911-06-10
LORD ROSEBERY'S
REMARKABLE SPEECH
Declares That Asquith Received
Guarantees From King Before
he Entered Election.
Man Who Led Peers Into Critical
Position Now Bids Them Accept
Their Fate.
Rosebery's Speech the Real End of
the Struggle Says MIR: I. P.
OCOnnor.

OCOnnOr.
The derby race, the coronation prep
arations, the tropical heat which was
broken after weeks by a terrific thun-
derstorm, the entertainment of the col
onial prenliers, the movements OF the
king and queen, Winston Churchills
violent outburst against the now flag
rant partisanship of judges in all cases
involving class or party issues---all of
these things fill the papers and engage
the public mind much more than does
the battle between the lords and COM
mons, says r P. O'Connor, in his Lon
don cable of June to the Chicago Tri-
bunc. ....
That tragedy is outstaying Its well
come and has not now even the merit
of being farce, for,a;unlike farce, it
makes the people yaWn instead of
laugh. The passage of the veto bill on
second reading without any division
marks the real and final denouemcnt of
the whole drama. If anything was
wanting to prove that, Lord Rose
bery's remarkable speech did. 1t was
appropriate that the politician who
/ more than ary other han led %theFlerds
| into the present disastrous position was
chosen to pronounce the funeral Grafton
over the dead and buried existing house
of lords. .
The caricaturists picture Rosebery as
swan singing his last song, for Rose
bery's speech, more than any other,
sounded the note of final surrender.
He advised the lords not merely to ac-
cept the second reading of the veto bill
but to abstain from their intention to
propose the anti-home rule and other
amendments. ..
Elections Accepted As Decision.
Rosebery accepted he two general
elections as deciding the questions and
admitted that Premier Asquith had no
choice but to- persevere ith the veto
bill in the present shape and to reject
all amendments.
Even more remarkable than this
counsel of despair was Rosebery's ac-
acknowledgement that Asquith had re-
ceved guarantees from the king which
would enable him to create 500 peers if
it were necessary to force the hands Of
the house of lords. Rosebery attempt
ed to carry off this statement by bur-
lesque picture of those new peers but
this did not alter the fact that he con-
fessed that Asquith would get the new
peers if he wanted to.
I have contended all through this
controversy that Asquith had received
written guarantees from which there
was no escape before he went into the
| last general election. Rosebery's dec
laration puts this question finally be-
yond all question for he has always
maintained close relations with royalty
and he has always been persona
grata.
On the other hand some of the liberal
/ journalists still profess to believe that
the backwoodsmen may throw over
Lansdowne and insist on pushing the
struggle to the bitter end but the back
woodsmen have been making fiery
threats for months to oppose the Lans-
doWne bill which meant the exclusion
Of four-fifths of their number from the
future house of lords, yet they did not
dare to divide on the second reading
of the Lansdowne bill.
They will come to heel similarly
when Lansdowne recommends the ac-
ceptance of the veto bill without their
amendments.
Speech Real End Of Struggle.
I regard then this speech by Rose
berry and the proceedings Of the house
of lords this week as the real end of
the struggle. All is over but the shout
ing.
The week wound up with violent
explosion of the fierce party passion
which Is underlying the superficial
calm of the present. moment. Church.
ills attack on the partizanship of the
English judges was on similar lines
as Roosevelt's attack on your court
It let loose the long pent-up passion of