The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1913-01-11

pfeIImpe4va TtEht oSSa succession to
NJ Ytsr asish,ps VI " u any rate, to the
bssatsons ssof. nrst topd6 fhe treasury.
~t:s6 leader st the Houss st Commons.
IL and when his psrty sets back to
power?, We knowsskhsrs have been
s1ull but safe men leaders Of the
House OF Commons. Bonar Law is
not duJ-no virago ever is, but he is
certainly not safe. Mr.. Law knows
his position: he has come to realize
UT; he feels it is preca>ious, but it
will not be vicarious If he can help it.
"Ths New Style"
Mr.. Laws initial mistake was al
effort TO inaugurate new era in par
liamentary warfare. He adopted what
Mr.. Asquith sarcastically called "the
new STYLE" The House Of Commons
' '0t4 the whole Is the fairest assembly
in the world; the game is played
ssauarely, and its rules are observed
4. When q man is elected leader of a.
party he gets every chance and every
: encouragement from his opponents as
swell as from his friends to mako
good start. No one dreams of saying
hard things Of him, much less making
him the subject Of studied attack in
the beginning. I we'll remember the
day Bonar Law entered tho House af-
; Il or col lao
position. He came in from behind
the speakers chair. His followers,
greeted him with cheer, which was
warmly taken up and sustained u
considerable time by the ministerial
\, lists. - .t,. 90,
- Mr.. Law lay low during the closing
months Of last session; but apparent
ly he made up his mind to give good
value this year. The new style" was
promptly put in force. No motives
were too mean to impute to the prime
minister and his colleagues in the
:, cabinet, If he failed, as fail he did
in the fine workmanship of debate,
he tried the bludgeon, and he even
. threw mud. He leveled personal in
suit at Mr.. Asquitf, and told him he
had no principles. In substance he
said the government were tricksters
and thimbleriggers; they sold them
selves in order to cling to office, and
SO on, and all the time the aristo-
Gratis Of the gentlemanly party ap-
plauded.
q. Ministers of the crown, to whatever
dparty they belong, adopt a curious
attitude towards people who habitu-
ally use violent language of that sort
r il the House Of Commons - have
heard language approaching Bonar
Laws used by irresponsible persons
occasionally-they ignore it, or brush
It,. aside with a contemptuous refer
renee, and for the most part that has
been the attitude adopted by the gov
eminent front bench towards Bonar
Law; but occasionally the ministerial
rank and file get FESTIVE. On one &C.
casion, when Bonar Law was very Of
,fensive, Kissing out his charges in
harsh, arid tones, members below the
3Rangway on the government side
showed signs OF impatie-lce and an
ger, on which MI. Law made tho
shrewisll comment: Judging by the
amount Of irritation my speech has
produced, think it must be COM
plctely successful" That is. Of course,
the precise standard of the fishwife:
the more she irritates and wounds,
the better abe is pleased.
Isl Mr.. Laws outstanding defects are.
Z think. due to want OF experience and
lack OF Judgment, and haunting
. gense Of the insecurity of his present
position. He never held high Office;
never sat at cabinet council board,
and was not even counsclled on ques-
tions Of tactics or policy by his own
leaders before Mr.. Balfour's retire.
neat. He was merely an ordinary
s"hon-nember' until a couple of years
ago when the present government
made him "of the privy council"
!. which carries with it the distinction
> Of Fright Hon." AS parliamentar-
ian. he occupies place between the
middle and tho upper strata; he is
fluent, but incautious, and is easily
drawn by more skilled debaters. 1t is
y with sigh CT relief the more staid
and astute among the members of the
opposition welcome the close of any
of their leaders speeches, if he has
not put his foot in it.
~ He Has Too Big a Job.
i. If there is anything more certain
than another it is that the leadership
of the opposition is too big a job for
s2Bonar Law. 1t is al open secret that
the opinion within the party is that