New-York tribune., 1922-03-08
Balfour Pleads
For Support of
Lloyd George
Demands Coalition Govern.
ment BE Continued IN
Power, Paying Glowing
Tribute TO the Premier
Serves His Country Best
Ceneral Tendency Among
Leaders TO Regard Cabi-
net Uphcaval rs Past
From rAc Tr'eare'' ruropear ssreau

! Copyright. 1879. New York Tribune Inc
LONDON, March T. - Sir Arthur J
Balfour, Urionist member Of the Cabi
given in his honor at The Carlton Club
by members Of his party, insisted that
the best interests cf England dc
nanded that the Lloyd George ccali-
tion be continued in power. Speaking
for the Conservatives who have re
manned loyal to the Premier, despite
the revolt Of the die -hards" in the
party led by Sir George Younger, Sir
Arthur paid a glowing tribute to the
genius, courage and foresight of Pre-
nier Lloyd George. Ho defended the
Anglo Irish treaty, which some of his
oVn party members arc attacking so
vigorously, and urged the unionists to
SEQ the big issue involved rather than
the surface difficulties. Tho coalition
uas Just as necessary to Eng and to-
| day, he said, as it was during the
great war.
Premier Lloyd George, VINO intends
to 60 to Wales tomorrow for vsca~
tior Of several weeks. remained i'll bed
TO-DAY on the advice OF his physicisn
who regards the Premier's illness as
not eerious in itself, but likely to prove
troublesome later If not carefully
rursed nov. here is q general tend
ency to regard the political crisis s3
past although no definite decisions
! have been made either in the camp Of
the rebel Unioniats or u government
circles.
Says Premier Is Misunderstood
Sir Arthur told his political asso-
ciates that some persons we're mlsun-
derstanding the Premier.
Il am told that there is sort Of
view current in the country or IN some
sections OF the country that this
MephistoPhe elan genius has hood +" inAed
and bamboozled all his Uniorist col
leagues" he said "Thet may be true.
His Unionist colleagues may be very
foolish and shortsighted persons. II
so, I hardly think they should be
trusted with government Of the coun~
try unhelped. But | don't think he
has bamhoozled ua. m quite sure he
doesn't bully US
Sir Arthur said that his own views
forty years, although the old argu,
and absolutely irrelevant He con
tinued:
Let any whom my words may reach,
to whatever party they may belong,
wha version of Irish history theT
oav choose to approve, whatever they
think OF the past-let them agree at
ali events on the present and Oh the
only conceivable way Of making the
condition of Ireland less tolerable than
IT has been since the Irish revolution,
since the rebellion of 1916.
Ulster Must Not Be Cocrced
Let them look at the big thing, the
big issue, not the smallest. When you
have a community as torn BY ancient
memories as is the population of Ire
land, when YOU have feeling running as
high as it does, when you have outrages
and counter outrages; when you have
passions. thoroughly religious, depend
cnt upon history, sometimes real his
tory and sometimes imaginary history
and they count just the same-when
you are dealing with passions of men;
when the known circumstances are
those in which you are placed now;
your attention to be diverted to smaller
issues and day by day tragedies and
difficulties, and to forget the great
object you have in view to which you
must force your way through every
petty obstacle and to which you can
look as the solution of your troubles" :"
Although it was no longer possible,
Sir Arthur said, to maintain the unity
of Ireland, the Unionists must see to it
that Ulster is not coerced and that the
treaty is carried out faithfully. If
these aims are attained, he added,
there will be an Ireland in which no
great body of the population will have
its affairs dealt with by an alien and
unsympathetic power, and VIC may sec
Ireland in its own way, happy and con-
! tented, an integral force of the British
! Empire