The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-30
INSURANCE ACT
 1 BITTERLY OPPOSED
Government Would Be De-
 feated in Election
IS LESS LITIGATION
Legal Statistics Show Decline-Gen- eral Taylor Was One of Heroes of Siege of Delhi-High Values
 for Writing

London, March 29.-(Special.)-There will be no more by-elections, which can possibly be avoided, until after the insur- ance act has been put into operation, and the people begin to feel the good results which the government is certain will come from it. The recent results at St. Roliox and Manchester show a set against the liberals which makes 1t practically cer- tain that if a general election was held now the government would be disastrous ly beaten.
 Tn these elections the insurance act has been the dominant soul
 Practically every doctor In the country is bitterly opposed to it and in the consti- tuencies which have voted recently the doctors were almost to man active campaigners against the government. To their efforts in large measure the liberal slump is attributed.
 Feeling that the opposition to the meas ure is based on misapprehension and that when it becomes operative these misap- prehensions will be dissipated and instead of a source of vital weakness the insur-
 
 government for time will make no cap- met changes, and appoint no officials in volving parliamentary elections, except in case of absolute necessity.
 These reverses have in no wise affected the governments determination to push resolutely ahead. with no change of prin- cple in what MT Llody- George calls "our broad scehe to carry out the will of the British and Irish democracies during the lifetime of the present parliament"
 Some delay will occur in the introduc- ton of measures fundamental to the plans of the coalition leaders. But 1t will be due to recent industrial dislocations and not to defeats at by-elections, which MT. Gladstone was wont to declare always go against the ministry of the hour.
 In announcing that the home rule bill is not to be brought in before Easter, MT. Asquitr Is not acting, as a Unionst paper says, Hike a man who covers be- fore the tempest he sees approaching" The bill will be brought in when ready and will be ready soon enough for the nationalist leader.
 Many people learned last week with great regret of the death of Canon Sir James Phillips, canon of Salisburg cath edral. He was immensely proud of his three sons, Lord St. Davids, Colonel Ivor Phillips. M. P, for Southampton. and Sir Owen Phillips, chairman of the Royal Mail Steam Packet company, and at one time they all sat in the house of com mons. The three brothers were the tall est men in the house, Sir Owen Phillips being feet inches. Col. Ivor Phillips feet inches, and Lord St. Davids, 6 feet inches.
 One of the few survivors of the siege af l., h. .,f loxx ander Taylor, has passed away at tthe age of S7.
 He went to India in 1S44 as a subaltern in the Bengal Engineers, took part in the two Sikh wars, and was the moving force of the engineering operations against Delhi during the mutiny of 1857.
 Night after night, while the batteries were building before Delhi, Taylor, who was second in command of the engineers under Baird. studied the ground and per- fected the final plans for the assault. He virtually directed the whole of the opera tions in the field, and Nicholson, hearing on his deathbed that the credit was be- ing bestowed elsewhere. is said to have exclaimed, If I get through this I shall let the world know it was Alex. Taylor who took Delhi"
 Lord Lawrence, who knew more than anyone of the inner history of the camp, | wrote in 1858 to Lord Dalhouse: "To | Nicholson, Alex. Taylor of the engineers, | and Neville Chamberlain the real merit | of our success is due.'
 During the street fighting which fol- lowed the assault Taylor showed extra ordinary resource and when our troops began to display signs of demoraliza- tion it was he who suggested that the en gineers should break internal pas sages from house to house. The plan succeeded and two days later Delhi waa In the hands of the British.
 Litigation is on the decline, or was in 1910. according to the latest official statistics. It would oe idle to dog matize about 1911. for the judicial conn mittee of the privy council goes about its duties in leisurely sashion ana itS report just issued, comes no further down into history than December, lslo, a period that in these rushing times seems quite remote. Taking 1910 and it with 1909, there is a de crease of 37,5S3 cases opened in the law courts That is interesting, IF 1t may be taken as evidence, acceptab. in the courts, of desire on the part of the people with grievances. real or inn aginary. to avoid expensive legal pro- ceedings.
 What the lawyers think about it is | another matter and would hardly, it is | to be feared, be accepted as evidence | before a judge and jury.
 In spite of all this decrease, the bulk | of litigation is still great. The decrease | in 1910 was between 1,513,o05 cases | in that year and 1,415,422 cases in the | year preceding. What that represents In lost "retainers' ano ''refreshers" to 1 lawyers in the front rank of their pro- fession the income tax commissioners i, best know, and they will not tell. But lawyers in England need not despair i If briefs are becoming rewer. New zea. land seems to offer many opportunities