The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-12-07
Duty Would Not DevoIve on Bon
ar Law If England Changes
Government
UNI0NISTS PLANS MADE KNOWN
Real Leader Of Party Is Member
of House of Lords
GENEROUS POLICY TO IRELAND

London, Dec. AT the recent
conference OF tho Nationa! Uuionist
Association, when ulr platform of tn,
tniunist Party was confirmed. IL was
made very clear that should there he o
change of Government in the United
Kingdom, the task OF forming the cabl-
net would fan upon the shoulders OF
Lord LanSdowne and not upon Bunai
Law.
During the past few months, as al
the lighting has been in the House Ut
Commons ana attcutiong has been at
tracted 10 that house more than To tn,
House of Lords, Uuionists as well "a
Liberals have come to regard BonaI
Law as actually, If not technically
leader Of his party, as well as of that
part of it which sits in the House OF
Lords Al the conference, however
II was Lord LansdoWne. not Mr.. Law
who was chosen to make the important
announcements in regard To the policy
Of the party a duty which invariably
falls To the leader Of the party. Mr.
Law,it will be remembered, was chosen
leader of the Cnionists I'm the Commons
when Mr.. Balfour retired but unlil<,
his predecessor, Mr. Law was not
chosen leader of the party. In the
American sense he is simply floor lead
er in the Lower House, and be obtained
that position because the Conservativ,
and LIBERAL Unionist element of what
is now known officially as the Union.
list, Party could not compose their diff
iarences and elect either Of their lead
ers. Austen Chambelain or Walter
Long. to the place,
Law is Too Radical.
Bonar Law has not been a great
success as a leader and therefore tbs
action of the National Convention in
making clear that he was not the lead
er of the party in the country. Mr.
Laws direct manner plcascs and
arouses the younger element in his
party. The great bulk of the old line
Conservatives, however. prefer the
old quiet style of which Mr.. Balfour
was the cxcmplar, and while they dc
not openly oppose, they privately OBJ
ject to the somewhat cXaggeratej
views expressed by Mr.. Law and what
will happen in Ulster if Home Rule is
passed. for example, or his support
Of the noisy interrupters i'm parliament
who the other evening pclted the Prime
Minister with paper and in other ways
acted in a manner unbecoming mem
bers of parliament
The assumption by Lord Lansdownc
Of the leadership of the party also in
dicates that his health, which last
summer IL was feared had broken
DOWN, has since greatly improved
IL was also rather marked that ut
the convention no mention was made
Cf the referendum that was to precedo
the introduction of tariff reform, or
tariff for revenue only. should the
Unionists bc returned. During the last
election MIR Balfour, who is not Il very
ardent tariff reformer, was induced by
what is known as the advisory COM
mittce Of the party. consisting of three
London editors. to say that should the
Unionists scccced in the election the
question of tariff reform would be re-
ferred To a vote Of the people.
important Party Planks.
Bonar Law, who at the time was
running for MauCester constituency,
where tariff reform is not popular, and
generally all the leaders and active
members of the party, took up the idea
and in this way brought many Union
list free traders into the fold. Joseph
Chamberlain, the chief apostle OF tariff
reform, and his son Austen Chamber
lain, were the only prominent Union
lists who repudiatcd the idea of % ref
erendum. and declared so far as their
influence went, the return Of the
Uniouists would mean the immediate
introduction of measure embodying
the policy for which they had fought.
Now the party in convention has adop-
ted their Wow of the matter.
The other planl<s of the party plat
lOlHi NtIc tlluo Dy ATJiu
downc'
Restoration of the British Consti-
tuition by which he meant the repeal
of the Parliament Act. which deprived
the Lords of their power of veto and
the substitution of measure reform
ing the Upper House.
"The maintenance of the Union with
ireland. coupled with the continuation
OF generous policy to Ireland so long
as she remains part and parcel of us.
The efficiency Of national finance.
"a land policy not based on class
hatred. We desire the cultivation of
the land to better the lot of those who
cultivate 1t, notably by increasing the
number of those interested in 1t as
owners of the SOIL