The Irish standard., 1913-01-18

\ -'-- - - I. !. - :. m = = =
tories won some by-elections !. and
Bonar Law got the credit of this
schange of fortune. Things were go
Wing SO well that the whole party was
convinced that they would get the
ministry out Of Office by Christmas
and that all the appetites for Office
which, have been stayed sft for the
last seven years would 1T list get full
nealAA ANA ahenlI ~ ~ MI change
came over the whole situa3 lon. Boaar
Law Welt with Lori Ian downe. the
i leader~ofwthee toriessasssthS House of
Lords. to a meeting at Albert Hall.
This meeting was to be the culmina-
ton of the intrigue that had been car
ried on for these seven years by the
Chamberlain and high tariff section
and the last remnants Of hesitation
for which Balfour was responsible in
adopting the full tariff policy were to
be thrown away.
Aud the first thing to be got rid of
was Balfour's promise tc defer action
on high tariff until he had put the
issue in a referendum to popular
p!ebiscite. This promise had done
Balfour certain amount of good.
There are a great many tories, cspe-
cially in the industrial centers, who
nj .o 70
. berlain's high tariff policy. At the
same time they are still more hostile
to Lloyd George and his heavy taxa
ton Of the rich. This referendum
gave them an excuse Tor voting tory,
a referendum would either go entirely
against tariff, or at least postpone it
so long as to make it difficult. When
Bonar Law threw over the referen-
dunn, and still more. when once more
he announced that he was ready in
the interests Of the colonies to put on
food taxes, the very opposite results
came to those he and the tariff group
expected. There was an immediate
outburst Of wrath and despair from
the north OF England, there was a
similar revolt in the tory party in the
House Of Commons and it was seen
that Bonar Law, instead Of uniting
had divided the tory party moro than
ever, that the storm instead Of abat-
ing. went on growing stronger and
stronger until at last the unfortunate
Bonar Law had to try and meet it by
making another speech.
=. Tory Papers Shout Revolt.
He went down to Ashton under
Lyme in the very heart of the Ian
cashire country, where food taxes are
most detested, and tried to explain
away what he had said. The explain
alton made things worse, for all he
had to offer instead Of the referen-
dunn was colonial conference where
the colonies were to dictate to Eng
land what England's fiscal policy was
to be. Canadian farmers were to tell
English workingmen whether they
We're to have their food taxed or not.
The proposition was too ridiculous
and too humiliating to be even con-
sidered. And the tory papers shouted
revolt louder than ever and the tory
rebels in the House of Commons be-
came even more pronounced and out
spoken in their protests.
Behind these grave differences Of
opinion in policy there are also grave
personal differences. The foundation
of the tory party is laid in the An
glican church and in tho squirearchy.
Both of these great interests have
suffered good deal under the infu-
ence of Lloyd George. He has put
land taxes on the sQuirearchy and he
is disestablishing the Anglican church
in Wales. Moreover, he threatened
other attacks on the big financial in
'terests. And while all of these things
are happening, they find Bonar Law
still hammering at his ridiculous and
impossible food taxes. They have
never loved him - these suuires and
parsons. He is not one of themselves,
q Scotch Canadian, a plain business
man. a Presbyterian, with all the
somewhat rough features of a pro-
fcsstonal golfer, man who never goes
into society IL he can help, of modest
fortune and modest tastes, who drinks
nothing stronger tkan gingerbeer, he
is the last man in the world whom
you would expect to find at the head
OF a great aristocratic party. And
some of the churchmea and aristo-
Gratis are also ardent opponents of
! food taxes and the whole tariff pro-
gram. The two chief leaders of the
tory churchmen are. of course, the
Cecils. Lord Robert and Lord Hugh.
For years these two brilliant, sons of
a great prime minister and q great
ANS