Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-19
Continued From First PageD

Lord Curzon. always very sensitive in
his amour propre, Redeemed deeply; all
the members of the Council felt an
atmosphere of embarrassment. l tried
to save the situation by saying that
such divisions of opinion between states
men of the same country were the
most hopeful signs of progress toward
the oragnic unity of Europe, and in
this way to save Lord Curzon's face"
While I was speaking l watched
Lloyd Georges wonderfully mobile ex-
preston My trick-because to speak
Of the unity of Europe apropos of Lord
Curzon was rather much of an eXag-
gera tion-evidently amused him; but 1t
was very clear that he cared much less
than 1 myself for Lord Curzon's
prestige.
I watched less conspicuous cases of
disagreement between Lloyd George
and Bonar Law, who is so different
from the other, in his solid Scotch
continuity of thought. I had deep
personal sympathy for Bonar Law; and
1 do not believe the allies did justice
10 his generosity when he came to Paris
in December. 1922. and offered to remit
Frances and Italys war debts. But
then, as now, 1 could not help feeling
that. had Lloyd George and Bonar Law
been rolled into one-the Scotchman
with his cold Judgment and his con-
tempt for popularity, plus the Welsh
man with his flashes of geniuS-a mar
velous statesman would have resulted.
Certainly a great deal of the amazing
rapidity of thought of the WEIGH would
nave been lost in the mixture, but
have heard some English Liberal
leaders complaining that the reason for
the decadence of the Liberal party
could be found in the devastating eff
fects of the flood of ideas which fell
on it from the hills of WaleS-too many
ideas for an old, classical British party.
But is Mr.. Lloyd George really Lib
eral in the historical British sense OF
the word? To answer this question IS,
l believe. to find the clue which may
lead to the explanation of the marvel
Gus Lloyd Georgian enigma.
First of all. who are the Liberals In
the English life at present? And does
any one really feel that Lloyd George is
at home, and that he has the feeling of
being at home among the Wings?
Men like Lloyd George are certainly
at home in the Stupendous, constant
political atmosphere which has been
created in British psychology by liberal
ISM But liberalism has been so tri-
umphant in England during the nine
tenth century and the beginning OF
the twentieth that as party IL mas
almost lost its raison d'etre. Under any
label all English thinking politicians
from Baldwin to Macdonald are Lib
erals. And while this constitutes the
highest victory for a party, after all it
is also cause for its decandence in the
practical field of life.
We have seen that only short time
ago Mr.. Lloyd George spoke of the
Liberal party as the next winning horse.
But after acknowledging that Lloyd
George is as deeply Liberal as Bald
win is or as a Bannermann was, we
must admit that few persons are as dis
tant as he from the remnants of Liberal
party characteristics. Such character
istics are to be found today in very few
men-in Lord Grey, for instance. and in
some elderly political writers like Gil
bert Murray or Spender, late editor Of
the Westminster Gazette. Highly Guilt