The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-10
HOME RULE PASSES
 SECOND READING Government Majority In-
 creased SeyeI. MUCH ENTHUSIASM .-l.
MUCH ENTHUSIASM
John Redmond Sums Up for Irish, While Bonar Law Attacks Bill Bitterly-Premier Asquith
 Speaks Forcefully

London. May 9.-The government car ried the home rule bill on it's second read ing in the house of commons tonight by a majority of 101 as against 94 for the first reading The vote was 372 to 271.
 It was the most largely attended house session of the present parliament. Both sides had done their utmost to get every available vote MT. Balfour, former opp rostion leader, and MT. Churchill, first lord of the admiralty, returned from Weymouth in order to be present
 The announcement of the figures show ing an increased majority occasioned en- thusiastic demonstrations on the govern ment side and the prime minister was given great ovation on leaving the house with his wife and daughter.
 Referred to House
 The bill was formally referred to committee of the whole house but as home rule and Welsh dis-esta blishment are being taken concurrently, it will now be the turn of the Welsh bill The commit tee stage of the home rule bill is not ex- pected to be reached until after whitsun- tide and probably will occupy a couple of months even with a liberal applica- ton of the cloture rules as the opposition is preparing an endless list of amend ments and will adopt every possibls means to obstruct the measure.
 Curiously, the second reading of the home rule bill coincides with the dis appearance of the word "conservatiye' as the official designation of the tory party A conference of the conserva- tive and liberal unionist parties todays finally resulted in a fusion of the two
 fha nf a unionist association" Thus the liberal unionists who seeded from Gladstone on his espousal of home rule now be- come part and parcel of the tory party.
 Redmond Sums Up .
 Declaring British nationalists had ac- cepted the pending home rule bill as a final settlement of the quarrel between England Ireland and other colonies, John Redmond summed up for his party this afternoon. MT. Redmond s address was a feature of the conclusion of the second reading stage of the bill for Ireland's hope. The bill will be talked to death 1t was stated. MT. Red- mond said:
 .If you want to remove the snags in the way or mutual understanding which should exist between this country and the United States you have means of doing it now by passing this meas ure."
 Anderw Bonar Law, leader of the op position, assailed the bill fiercely. The government, he declared was setting up customs houses not to create union but to destroy the union which already existed He denounced the safeguards in the bill as utterly futile, condemned the financial provisions and drew gloomy picture of Irelands future un- Y Ger home rule.
 In conclusion the opposition leader declared that the government could never carry the bill through unless ir was first submitted to the judgment or the country.
 Premier Asquith Speaks
 Premier Asquith wound up the debate for the government in a brief and forceful speech which aroused great enthusiasm on the part of his support CTS.
 Referring to the Ulster threats. MT. Asquith said he believed the British people were not the people to be Frightened out of what they believed to be just by language of intimidation. The government had asked repeatedly what further safeguards were desired, but the only answer of the opposition was that they would receive from Ul' ster nothing but unyielding and uncom- promising resistance.
 In conclusion Premier Asquith said that the claim of Ireland was of para mount urgency because there was no part of the United Kingdom to which the imperial parliament owed so long and so deep a debt.