The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-31

LONDON, Dec. 30.--One more day
and we will be entering a year which
will be crowded with events which
will leave their marks upon the pol
tiles of England. In the second
month of the year the house of COM
mons will formally decide the fate of
Ireland, which in the future is to bs
free to settle it's own internal affairs.
Nobody expects anything more So
rious than a mere formal protest on
the part of the Tory party In the
house of commons IL, indeed. a COM
promise shall not have been arranged
before that time in order TO save
the honor of the Conservatives.
The kings assent to the bill is
already assured. for King George.
though by no means brilliant states
man, has at least sense enough to
know better than spurn the advice Of
his responsible ministers, and revive
the royal prerogative. which. though
formally still in existence, has not been
used for so many years that 1t may
be considered dead.
The petition started by one of the
most sensational of the London Con-
servatfve papers for the purpose of
proving to the king that the govern
ment was out of touch with public
opinion has been shelved some time.
and nothing Will be heard of 1t again.
AS for Ulster, no one ever really
thought that Ulster would fight, and
everybody knows that Sir Edward
Carson, in spite of all mis- farce ut
terances is more than ready to come
TO some arrangement. which viii save
his reputation before the time comes
when he will be compelled to sur
render Internationally, or run the
actual risk of arrest.
lloyd Georges Land Reforms
With home rule out of the way the
present liberal government will inaug-
urate in real earnest the new policy of
land reform. as planned by the genius
OF Lloyd-George. which. Ii carried
through. Will peacefully revoluionizs
England. and to a certain extent make
Ii able to provide for every worker In
the country willing TO ieave the
crowded city to go to work on what.
thanks to our present system. Is prac-
tically virgin soil. untouched by the
plow for many generations. When
this measure comes up. 1t will be
seen that the whole Tight against
home rule has been a sham, a mere
skirmish, and that only now is the
whole strength OF the Tory party
brought forth to defend the privileges
of the few against the just claims Oh
the long Altering masses. The battle
for the ownership Of land will make
or break the liberal party.
Even now the Tory press. after In
sisting at first that the land campaign
was nothing more than a red herring
drawn across the trail. la beginning 70
denounce the land reforms with every
- va
Georges scheme OF making use OF the
time between now and the next elec-
ton 10 educate the common people
and show them clearly what land re-
form will mean to those who work
Is being made the subject of ridicuie
In every Conservative paper which
thinks 1t absurd that 1t is necessary
for the common voters to know any
thing beyond how to vote straight
party ticket.
II liz more than a month since
cabIed that c1ear-sighted men inside
the Tory party realized the party must
invent scheme Of land reform su-
perior to that conceived by Lloyd
George. or face the certainty of g
crushing defeat. but these men havl
been siieuced by their leaders, WIN
with ostrichlike stupidity, see ne
necessity of constructive politca
program for the Conservative party
English People Changed.
All that will avail now Is to gel
the present progressive government
bowled over by hook or crook. The
great mistake that the Tory leaders
are making is they do not know the
change which has come over the
English people. Because the masses
Of the people have hitherto been inert
and satisfied to vote as did thetl
sQuires or their bosses, the Tory lead
ers concluded that they viii conttnu.
to do so. and they leave out of con
sideration the gratitude which thous-
ands OF voters feel toward the mar
who gave them old age pensions, wh1
laid the foundation of labor insu-
rance and whom they now trust wheT
he promises that he will deliver them
from the yoke of the landlords.
With the veto of the Anticipated
house of lords abolished forever. and
with the adjustment Of the undemo-
cratic plural vote, wide breach has
been made in the stronghold of the
Tories, and the way OF progress has
practically been cleared in England
On one side stands now the Tory
party. with its clamor for increase
naval arrangements. which means
heavier burdens on those who are al
ready soverburdened, for general con-
scription, the evils Of which have been
made clear by recent events in mill
taristic Germany, and for a protec-
tive tariff. which America has tried
and found wanting. while on the
other side stands the liberal govern-