The Washington times., 1914-03-23

eral program of imperialism. Mr..
Asquith and his chancellor of the
exchequer have been retorting to
them that they can have all the bat
tleships and regiments they want;
but they must pay for them; they
cannot expect the working and mid
die classes to foot all the bills. This
is new doctrine, and the tory land
owners do not like it. They are,
truth to tell, willing to 60 to almost
any extreme, even into civil war, to
break down, wreck and discredit
ministry that would thus attempt to
make them bear something like
their share of the cost of running
the government and improving the
condition of the working masses of
the kingdom.
So the Ulster issue was seized
upon, in the hope of making stu
alton so grave that it would turn
the nations sentiment against the
liberal ministry and party. The out
come cannot yet be guessed, because
nobody knows how far the tories are
really prepared to go. Ulster has
organized its volunteers, armed
them. and threatens armed revolt
against rule by a Dublin parlia-
ment. The government replies that
arms will be met by arms, and that
Ulster must yield. A promise of
home rule for Ulster, by itself, for
q limited period and on condition its
own people finally vote for it, is
held out by Mr.. Asquith; but this is
not enough for the Orangemen, who
insist that there shall be no home
rule measure at all. They want to
be governed from London, and will
have nothing else.
In answer to the arming of
Ulster, the government recently be-
gan moving troops into that prov
ince, in order to be ready for any
eventuality. But here arose a new
difficulty; one that had been vague
ly limited at, but not suspected to be
so grave. Officers in the British
army are almost without exception
gentlemen and the sons of gentle
men; which Is almost equivalent to
saying that they are tories. They
may have little property of their
own, but they have the prejudices
and the traditions of the properties
classes. They are generally affiliat-
ed and in SYMPATHY with the tory
elements.
So, then, the officers of the army
are generally allied and sympathetic
with the people who want the gov
ernment's program to fail. They are
not. 50 much concerned about home
rule as about the whole great social
and economic reform program that
i the Asquith ministry intends to
force as soon as home rule is out of
the way. Being anxious to destroy
the Asquith ministry, they find that
they have an unexampled opportu-
nifty in the Ulster crisis. The army
cannot be operated in Ulster with
out officers: and the officers are re-
ported resigning in shoals!
The excuse of course is that they
don't want to fight against British
subjects; they would rather give up
their commissions. But it is rather
a poor excuse, viewed in the light
of actual history of the willingness
of British soldiery to fight in Ire
land on other occasions. The fact
is, and the heads of the British gov
eminent have not been mealy-
mouthed in their announcement of
it, that the Irish crisis is a good
deal artificial, manufactured be-
cause a crisis was needed if the
liberals are to be driven out of
power. 1t is politics, almost ex-
clusively politics.
But where will it all end? No
man can guess. The elements are
all present in Britain for real civil
war; not a war between sections of
Ireland, but an internecine struggle
all over the United Kingdom. That
fact is recognized by all the students
of the situation. War is the threat
most often indulged by the tories:
it is the one thing that the liberals
most fear. If war comes, it will
come because toryism in it's last
ditch was willing to drench the
country in blood rather than permit
the social reforms to be carried into
effect. 1t is hard to believe that
Englishmen will be guilty of such a
crime.
Mr.. Asouith and Mr.. Lloyd.
George have stood firm agains,
every threat of their opponents;
and they insist today that if the
opposition starts bloodletting, there
: can be NO other issue than a rea
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