New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-10-05
Home Rule by Consent
.raENcE OR DISSOLUTION OR BOTH AS INSTRUMENTS OF
o"' PEACE-THE KINGS SHARE.
Copyright. 1913. by C. w. smalley.,

scheme and get 1t fairly afoat. lts
newspaper success was enormous.
( The Times" usually slow to avail
itself Of such sources Of information
or slow TO acknowledge them, printed
day after day page after page Of ex-
tracts from papers of every sort,
metropolitan and provincial; Unionist,
Liberal, Radical, Irish everything.
But 1t is not, in this country. the news
papers through which the chief tacti-
cal operations Of politics are conducted.
Nor have English political leaders,
though dumb to the public. been mac
tive. There have been consultations
on both sides. There has been some
thing like a procession of eminent
! Cnionists to Balmoral Lord Lans-
| downe, Lord Curzon. Mr. Bonar Law
and Mr.. Balfour have all been, together
! or excessively, guests at Balmoral.
! That means they have been guests OF
the King. They have been summoned
! by the King in consultation. II is a
royal privilege to seek advice from
whom he will 1t Is the advice OF his
Ministers which he is bound TO take so
long as they are his Ministers, but he
has a constitutional right to ask and
consider the opinions Of the Opposition
leaders. He used this prerogative
while that piece of political brigandage
known as the Parliament Act was pur-
suing its devious way through the
1 90 o
Lords. The only limitation upon
| his freedom In this respect is the
obligation to scouaint his Ministers
with his intentions and obtain their as
sent; which they could not well refuse.
l can recollect no instance In which SO
many of the Opposition chiefs have
been sent for within so short time
The inference can only be that the
King thinks the situation one Of I'M
| usual gravity: as II is.
This brings us back to the question
low far tn King can take n hand
in the game OF high politics. On the
abstract point / quoted in a previous
letter the authorities then accessible. |
AMY 'Ao'O bCci W MI. Nj
bert Dicey, who agrees with Sir Will |
lam Anson but is more precise than
he. Professor Dicey, like Sir William,
has written a book on the Law OF the 4
| Constitution" now in its seventh edi-
ton; and like Lord Curzon uses The
Times" frequently as a pulpit from A.,
which to impart to the British people |
his views on such topics as seem TO
him to require exposition at his hands. |
Professor Dicey now breaches the Doc
trine Of Dissolution, and breaches II |
with unanswerable force. He is clear
ly Of opinion that there ought TO be a /
Dissolution before another session CT |
Parliament. and that, IL this Ministry
will not dissolve, the King ought to !!
dissolve. This the King may constitu-
tionally do "in conformity with the |
advice OF a Minister ready to assume |
the responsibility for this course OF ac-
ton" Pitt, in 1884, and Peel, in 1884. !
took that responsibility. A third name
may be cited. Burke said, discussing
not Dissolution but the more difficult
question Of the Kings Veto as one Of
the royal prerogatives. and their dis
use:
Its repose may be the preservation
Of its existence, and its existence may
be the means Of saving the Constitu- !
| ton itself on an occasion worthy Of !
bringing it forth"
The cole
against an appeal to the people, which
Is what Dissolution means is a party
argument, and 1t is shaL.elessly urged, |
though not, l presume, upon the King. |
II Dissolution resulted In a majority !
for Mr. Asquith, the Home Rule bill
could still be passed next year under
the Parliament Act. II il resulted in
q majority for the Union, Mr.. Asquith !
would then have escaped the RESPONSE
bility of pressing TO the bitter end and
against the will of the people a policy
Of Civil War. 1t IS clear that the two /
questions of Conference and Dissolu- !
ton go hand in hand. II Mr.. Asquith |
accepts either, Civil War may be !
aver tcu' II Hc dCCeplS NeltHer he may
cling 10 office, but at what a cost!
From all which ii follows that the
Kings name and prerogative cannot be |
kept out of the discussion because they |
are already in it. The King may OF
may not decide to dissolve. "The Elk
press" and Mr.. Arnold White seem to
think he will decide to dissolve or per-
haps has already decided. But the
consultations at Balmoral are explica-
BILE only on the t DRY that the King
and those ex-Ministers OF the Crown
whom he has summoned are together
! considering the situation. The Kings
object can only be the welfare of his
| realm. He may use Dissolution az IN
| instrument. He may use Conference
! as an instrument. But he Of all men
| is the one man who cannot sit idle
while loyal Province is coerced and
loyal Irishmen. whose real offence is
| loyalty to him. are shot down by his
, troops. II he has the power to prevent
that he has the duty to prevent II.
With him alone. II anywhere. remains
the power to remit the question to the
nation, q w C