Widnes Examiner. — 1908-12-05 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

ACTIVITY. attention Mr. Crosbield has  paid of late both to his constituents and to his constituency. Not only has he been in close attendance at the House of Commons when in London, but he has taken every opportunity of appearing at public functions in Warrington and speaking in that happy, yet thoughtful strain, which now seems so natural to him. Whether among the bazaars or bowlers, the politicians or the Caledonians, he has been equally at home. He was perhaps not heard to the best advantage at the great Liberal demonstration on Saturday evening', but Mr. Crosfield then spoke under the double disadvantage of fallowing Mr. Birrell, and of suffering from the effects of a cold which had weakened his voice considerably. On Monday, however, the genial company of Scots assembled to celebrate St. Andrew's day, found him in fine form. The running fire of raillery between Mr. Crosfield and Mr. Hall, spiced with sly political allusion, was greatly enjoyed, and we hope our readers will turn to page 3 of this issue and read the report printed there. The Member has spent many happy days North of the Tweed and it was high praise indeed which he bestowed on ' bonny Scotland's charms : "I have had the good fortune to see much of grandeur and beauty in the mountain scenery of the Alps, the Tyrol, the Pyrenees at different times, but to my mind little I have seen can equal and nothing surpass the same combination of beauty and grandeur in the Northern and Western Highlands." As a golfer, too, Mr. Crosfield had much to say about that veritable Mecca for devotees of the sport—St. Andrew's—and his speech will not readily be forgotten. This will probably be his last oration in Warrington for a month or two, as he intencis shortly to pay a visit to the South of France and enjoy a holiday, with the added satisfaction that it is well-earned.  Warrington Liberals will MR. BIRRELL'S long retain the pleasantest Visa. recollections of Mr. Birrell's  visit, and we trust that he, too, will be gratified at the renewal of acquain• tanceship even after 60 long a lapse as forty years. Mr. Birrell was forty years younger when he last visited the old town, and it is to be hoped that he will not be forty years older before he comes again. Even the best of memories and the tenderest of recollections are liable to be somewhat weakened by such an interval. If he was over-due, however, Mr. Birrell quite made up for even an unwitting neglect by the character of his speech at the great Liberal demonstration in the Parr Hall on Saturday evening. Much is expected from a Cabinet Minister, and particularly from one with such a record of political and literary achievements as Mr. Birrell possesses. If the occasion was momentous when Mr. Birrell listened at the feet of Gladstone on the occasion of his first visit to Warrington, it was even more so on Saturday evening, for the Liberal Government, was, and is, face to face with a crisis which is sure to become historical. The cold-blooded murder of the Licensing Bill by the hereditary and irresponsible House of Lords has awakened the people to a realisation of the fact that, while a Second Chamber is constitutionally a valuable institution, such a Chamber as that dominated by the Peers, and operated solely by the mechanism of the Tory party,is a menance to the welfare and progress of the nation. Mr. Birrell is " a Second Chamber man" but he was bound to confess that "we have here a Second Chamber. . .which has abdicated all its functions and is no longer entitled to receive that consideration which is due Ito a Second Chamber which properly conducts its business." Though speaking with the reserve incumbent upon a man holding Cabinet rank, Mr. Birrell faced the situation boldly and bade the House of Lords an uncompromising defiance on behalf of the Liberal Party and the allied forces of progress. The guillotining of the Licensing Bill with no more trial or hearing than that accorded