New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-26


| nobody knew. His appointment was a
leap in the dark. But it was thought Mr..
Balfour, though no longer leader, would
| do, and must do, that part of the wOrk
| in which Mr.. Law was admittedly de-
| ficient; that he would sit by his side:
| that he would be there at critical mo-
| ments; that he would devise II he
could not apply means Of meeting Mr..
Asquith's none too scrupulous meth
DDS: that he would furnish the intel
, lectual equipment Indispensable in de-
bate: that he would shepherd his sue
! cessor through his first troubles. and
, that. between the two, His Majesty 8
| Opposition might find the guidance
and firm hand hitherto lacking.
| or course that did not happen. You
cannot have two captains on the bridge
at once. One will be captain and the
other will not. Divided counsels. or
any counsels at all in an emergency,
can only mean destruction. Mr.. Law
| began modestly, but there never was
any doubt who was in command. He
began with blunder which to lesser
man would have been fatal. While he
was attacking the Insurance Act, Mr..
Asquith broke in with a question
Would you repeal it, Certainly"
answered the new leader. No leader
who knew his business would have al
lowed himself 10 be drawn in that way.
1t was an attempt. and a successful at
| tempt by the Prime Minister, TO ex-
tract an unwary answer i'm the heat Of
debate on a very grave issue requiring
to be coolly considered. The Insurance
Act had not at that time reached the
height of its deserved Cnpopularity.
Mr.. Lloyd George. who never took
other than a party view. still hoped To
make party capital out Of il: not fore
seeing that il was to cost his party a
dozen constituencies.
| Mr.. Laws forecast was a truer one.
and his answer, though rash, would
| have been a good answer had he stuck
| to il. But when he sat down, the
Whips and his friends, appalled, by the
and by the possible consequences, in
duced him To write a letter Of explana-
ton 10 next mornings Times" He
explained that he had not meant what
he said, but something else. 1t is
Balfour over again" said the disheart-
ened Unionists. while the Radicals,
naturally enough. shouted for joy.
do not revive that story in order to
discredit Mr.. Iaw. revive il in order
TO suggest that man who could out
| live such a disaster-and there were
others-must be ii strong man. There
are various opinions as to Mr. Law J
tact and sagacity as chief Of a party.
but that he is "A strong man nobody
now doubts. The Ashton speech and
what followed it are one more proof.
From no point Of view could the Ash
ton speech be deemed n wise speech:
even though delivered. az we are told.
with the approval of his colleagues in
Opposition. II was IA speech meant to
! keep Food Duties in the Unionist pro-
gramme but TO keep them out Of its
platform at the next election: speech
| for the Maine law but against It's en-
! forcement. 1t threw the party into
I confusion. 1t provoked not only re-
! sistance but resentment. II saddened
his friends and delighted his foes. For
weeks the party seemed likely either to
go TO pieces or 10 find itself without a
| leader. Then. slowly, by the mere
| force of circumstances and of that ulti-
mate confidence in their leader which
even glaring errors could not much i'm
pair, the party closed its ranks and
rallied once more solidly, or almost
soidly. behind Mr.. Law. THE Morn
| ing Post" which had assailed him with
its wonted impetuosity, remained i'm
penitent.
The truth is, they knew that they had
found in Mr. Bonar Law what they had
so long wanted, fighting leader.
They knew him as man of convic-
tions which he would never surrender
for expediency's sake though he might
| postpone them to a more convenient
must. They forgave him his mistakes
| for his fearlessness. They loved him
for his championship Of Ulster. They
adored him when Mr.. Asauith talked Of
his principles, and Mr. Law flung at
him across the table his singing, rude.
true sentence: You haven't got any"
The jbes of the Radical press. and
especially OF the Cocoa press, endearcd
| him TO his party. If there was a mo-
ment when Lord Northcliffe thought
MIR. Law would have to go, the moment
passed, and there were no eulogies
more elaborate than those in which
"The Times announced its change Of
A., heart. The attempt TO 'dictate"-to
use Mr.. Garvin's word-to the Unionist
leader had failed and yet somehow it
WAS not Mr.. Laws view but the view
of the majority which had prevailed.
IL there has been such an attempt,
Mr.. Law has himself to thank for it.
II you judge him by appearances he Is
too ready to concede to men whose
position in the party Is due in part to
birth. He sometimes has the air Of
doubling whether he is their equal
His modesty is oppressive: and capable
of seeming deferential True. he is not