El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-07
LAW TO LEAD
UNI0NISTS
ON FLOOR
Is Not Regarded as Party
Leader, but Is Good Cam
paigner in in the House.
LANSDOWNE REALLY
CONSIDERED LEADER

London, England, Dec. TAT the
autumn conference Of the National IN
icnist association, when the platform
Of the Unionist party was confirmed, it
was made very clear that should there
Re a change OF government in the
united kingdom, the task Of forming
the cabinet would fall UPON the shouI-
GERS Of lord LansdOwne and not upon
BOnar Law.
During the past few months. as all
the fighting has been in the house OF
commons, and attention has been at
tracted to that house more than to the
house Of lords. UniOnists as well as
Liberals have come to regard BOnar
Law as actually, II not technically,
part Of 1t which sits in the house OF
lords. At the conference, however, it
was lord LansdOWne, not Mr.. Law, who
was chosen to make the important an
the party, duty which invariably falls
to the leader Of the party.
Mr.. Law was chosen leader Of the
UniOnists in the commons when Mr.
Balfour retired, but, unlike his prede-
ceSSOr, Mr.. Law was not chosen leader
of the party. In the American sense,
he is simply floor leader in the lower
house. and he obtained that position
because the Conservative and LIBERAL
UniOniSt elements of what is now
known officially as the Unionist party
could not compose their differences and
elect either Of their leaders. Austen
Chamberlain or Walter Long to the
place
Not a Success.
Bonar Law has not been a great sue
cess as q leader, and therefore the
action OF the national convention in
making clear that he was not the
leader Of the party in the country. Mr.
Laws direct manner pleases 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. BaIfour was
the exemplar, and while they do not
openly oppose, they privately object
to the somewhat exaggerated views ex-
pressed by Mr.. Law on what will hap
pen IN Ulster If home rule IS passed,
Tor example or his support Of the noisy
interrupters in parliament. who the
other evening pelted the prime minister
with paper and In other ways acted in
a manner unbecoming members OF par
lament.
The assumption Of lord Lansdowne
Of the leadership Of the party also in
dicates that his health, which last sum-
mer IL was feared had broken down,
has since greatly improved.
1t was also rather marked that at
the convention no mention was made
of the referendum that was to precede
the introduction OF tariff reform, or
tariff for revenue only should the
UniOniSts be returned
During the last election Mr.. Balfour,
who Is not a very ardent tariff re-
former, was induced by what is known
as the advisory committee OF the party,
consisting OF three London editors, to
say that should the Unionists succeed
in the election the question Of tariff
reform would be referred to a vote OF
the people Bonar Law, who at the
time was running for a Manchester con-
stituency. 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 Unionist free traders back into
the fold Joseph Chanlberla the chief
apostle of tariff reform, and his son,
Austen Chamberlain, were the only
prominent Unionists who repudiated
the idea OF a referendum, and declared.
so far as their influence went, the re-
turn Of the UniOnists would mean the
immediate introduction OF a measure
embOdying the policy for which they
had fought. Now the party in conven-
ton has adopted their view OF the
matter.
WouId Restore Constitution
The other planks Of the party plat
form were thus outlined by lord Lans-
doYne:
ton, by which he meant the repeal OF
the parliament act. which deprived the
lords OF their power of veto and the
substitution Of a measure reforming
the upper house
The maintenance OF the union with
Ireland, coupled with the continuation
of a 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 it, notably by increasing the
number Of those Interested in it as own
ers OF the soil"