The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-04-11
CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION
OF THE NETHERLANDS
(By Associated Press.

in the Netherlands is a remarkable
one in the history of modern Con
stitutional States, being the outcome
of the extraordinary circumstances il
which the country finds itself. The
present government has announced
and already put into practice on sew
eral occasions, the theory that only
individual ministers need fall if the
bills introduced by them with, OF
course, the approval of the whole
Cabinet) are defeated in Parliament
and the ministry as whole proceeds
with its work as if nothing had hap
pened. The Prime Minister, Mr.. Cort
van der Linden, a sound Liberal and
consequently great respecter OF
good constitutional rules, has just
publicly declared in the first Cham
Der of the Dutch Parliament that ev-
en- If the proposals for the revision
of the constitution, which form the
main item of the governments leg
islative program and for which he
is personally responsible, should be
rejected by Parliament, he will re-
main in office.
1t seems unconstitutional, SAYS
one press organ, and a unique deyel-
opment in the evolution of modern
constitutional ideas, when a Cabinet
may have its entire legislative pro-
flee as If nothing particular had hap
pened There are, however, natural
| ly good grounds for the ''super-con-
stitutionalism" of the present Dutch
ministry; and it is silently endorsed
by the nation as whole They are
found in the perilous pc ition of The
country. The ministry will not make
a Cabinet question Of any subject of
internal politics because it considers
itself a Cabinet of Foreign Affairs,
and its raison detre the preservation
of the countrys independence and
Linden is ncmirally Minister of
Home Affairs, he makes it clear that
he really regards himself as the
guardian and director of the uation-
al-international policy of the Meth
erlands, saying in effect that only a
direct vote of censure on himself and
his colleague, will bring about their
resignation
The effect of this attitude on the
home political situation is a curious
one, for the questions placed by the
government on the legislative pro-
gram constitutional revision, in
GLIDING universal manhood. suffrG sc
and the question of woman's suffrage
question; far-reaching taxation r
forms, old age pensions, etc. ARE Or
very controversial nature and ieep-
ly divide the various political par
ties But to the reproaches addressed
to it by the parties of the RICH that
it is thus breaking the political truce
tho government replies: 1T is high
time these questions, which have so
long occupied the political arena and
which, indeed, we promised to deal
with, were settled. Just now, when
all parties have been drawn togeth>
IN, ,,tNl, vol i,,fr In Eat ~ . h.
country. let us take advantage OF the
spirit of cancellation so evoked and
with as little parti anship as possible
try to solve them. But while these
are our proposals as Cabinet, we
leavey on entirely free to accept or
reject them as You will; with The
fun assurance that our life as Cab
inct, and the, foreign police OF he
country, on which all are agreed,
will not be affected thereby. Vote as
you will, accept or reject the lceis-
lative measures put before YOU: 1t
office as a whole, whose existence de-
ponds on your continued support of
its foreign policy and not on its nome
legislative proposals.
That this new constitutional prec-
edent should have startled some peo-
pie and led members of the opposi-
tion parties of the right to ask:
What has become of ministerial re-
sponsibility?" is not surprising. The
basic rule that ministers are respon-
sible." that was introduced into the
constitution when the Liberal party
wa. at the height of its power, is
thus set on one side by this govern
ment, by this Chassis Liberal prime
minister" says the Tyd.