Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-01-13
Motion to Reject 1t Defeated.
131 to 39-Measure Is Then
Passed by Commons without
Division at Asquith's Request.
SCENES OF ENTHUSIASM
Labor Ministers Withdraw Res
ignatiOns-Bill Will BE MOdi-
fled on Request So II Cannot
BE Used as Step Towards Gen
eraI or Industrial ConscriptiOn.

l.ondou Jan. l2.-Amid scenes Of ur-
roarious enthusiasm tho House "t
commons at II o'clock tonight defeat
od a motion to reject the military scrV-
Ice hill nv u vote Of i31 to 30 Tmlne-
diatcly afterward the House accede 81
to the premicrs request by passing III
second rcadinS Of the bill without
division.
The vote was chiefly interesting or
account of the changed attitude g
many of the lo5 members who op-
posed it on tho first reading.
Tho debate vas closed 10y Arthur Hen
dcrsol, president Of the board of educ:.
tion. ho said it was great satisfactic
To him that because Of definite assurance
given his friends and himself by II
premier in the name Of ;he whole cabinet.
he WAS able to rcmaln for the presei.
in tho coalition ministry This fact woul'!
hc regarded at home and abroad as
symbol OF tho nations unity. He close
with the statement;
II have the AUTHORITY Of Earl Nitchnncr
and the general staff that VIC reGulr" ~
once not ouly the unmarried nou enroHe
under tho Derby scheme. not only II
married men who are waiting to be called
fj"oo mon with whom this measu,
| deals"
Tho opposition it, the House of Com
| mons to tho conscription bill crumbled
! Tonight to few conscientious ohjec
tors \ fortnight ago the anti-com-
pulsionists claimed 200 votes, but or
the first reading they were able &
muster only 100. of whom moro than
one-half were irish nationalists.
when it came to the second reading
of tho bill tonight, the Irish ma
tionalsts had withdrawn from the op-
position, Premier Asduith had plac7ted
n majority Of tho labor members, who
/ had voted "No" on the first reading.
and only = comparative handful re-
maiucd irrcconcilablc.
The result appears 10 have been duo
rartly to evidences that tho Countr.'
favors the measure and partly to Mr..
Nsuuith's often displayed facility at
Cancellation.
| The premier held n conference with tt :
executive committee of the labor party
and labor members Of the House of Com
mons this afternoon at which he induced
tho three labor members of the ninistrF
10 withdraw their designations tenn
porarily. and apparently made stron =
impression on the members of the cXccu-
tive committee.
The labor mon asked for assurances
that the hill should not he used as ST. ~
towards general conscription or industrial
conscriptiou. Nh Asluith gave II"
promise that the bill would be moditie i
to safeguard 1t from any suspicion tha t
il could he used for such purposes Afto =
an appeal for labors support he withdrew
! to permit the representatives to discuss
their policy
The nationalist members, after Notir g;
against the bill on the first reading, nUN
take the attitude that il does not concel
them, although they are opposed 70 COM
puson on principle since K applies onl
20 the larger island. John Dillon, VII,
WAS it's strongest opponent among II
nationalists, agreed to the partys dccso
although he said he would have fougl
the bill il a majority of the liberals an
lahortes had stood against il.
The weakening of the opposition &
limited conscrption in the House q!
, Commons does not necessarily indca'
a change of front by organized labo
throughout the country. The labor COZ
= Crcss of last week polled a large ma
iority against the governments plan
. although the critics claim that it di
- not represent the mass of the member
- ship of the unions. Tho Miners FEEDER
alton. which was not represented j.
= that congress, will hold a conventio
- next week, and all the local miners a
'' socatious which have instructed dele
gates thus far have instructed thc'
; against the bill
The South Wales miners confercn,,
| do hN a.
2ll TO - to protest against tho hill an'
+ further, to ask the national cNecutN
II to poll general ballot ON the dow
tools" policy unless the bill is witt
{ drawn.