LIBERAL PARTY

-when the house of lords rejected the budget at the end of 1909, mr. asquith immediately dissolved parliament and appealed to the electors. the appeal was not only for the passing of the budget, but also for the permanent removal of any control over finance by the upper chamber, and for a time limit on any veto on any other legisla- tion passed by the house of commons. in the election, the liberal party lost a considerable section of its enormous ma- jority. but mr. asquith had, in combination with the irish and the labour members, a majority of 124 pledged to these two operations. the parliament act-—the budget was passed in april, but in may 1910 king edward vii. died and a kind of truce of god was called on the important constitutional question between lords and commons. delegates from both sides discussed all possible forms of double chamber government for the remaining nine months of the year. agreement was finally found to be impossible. ‘the conference broke up and immediately mr. asquith again dissolved parliament, this time with the written guarantee of the new king, george v., that if the country again liang shih-yi—liberal party endorsed his policy the royal prerogative would be exercised to create a sufficient number of peers to cause the necessary bill to become law. the election resulted in almost exactly the same balance of numbers as that which was held nearly 12 months before. mr. asquith’s veto bill passed through all its stages in the ilouse of commons by majorities of over roo, and the amend- ments which the lords endeavoured to make to it were rejected. ‘the conservatives were informed they must either allow the bill to pass or its passage would be effected by the creation of sev- eral hundred new peers. they chose the former course. the liberal programme—the liberal govt. then proceeded to endeavour to carry measures, the principles of which the house of lords had previously rejected and the ilouse of com- mons previously approved—home rule for ireland, welsh disestablishment, and the creation of a more democratic fran- chise by giving each man only one vote. of these the last was withdrawn owing to its complication over the question of giving the votes to women. i]ome rule passed after many months of most bitter controversy and the organisation of contingent rebellion both in ireland and in england. but it was only put on the statute book after the opening of the world war in 1914, accompanied by a condition suspending its operation till that war was over. the welsh disestablishment bill was alse passed and came into operation after the war was over. mr. lloyd george also passed his great contributory insurance scheme, and in 1913 he launched an ambitious land policy in town and country, which was accepted by the liberal party and on which they intended to appeal to the country. the war pertod.—but all such plans were swept away by the outbreak of the world war in aug. 1914. the liberal cabinet was seriously divided between the policy of neutrality and the policy of intervention, and at one time the resignation of the govt. appeared inevitable. the war was conducted exclusively by the liberal cabinet until may 1915, when failures in the field, the anxiety of the people and the bitter attacks by the newspapers, made it essential that a wnion sacree should be formed in britain as it had been formed in other countries. there was therefore constructed the first coalition, in which mr. asquith remained prime minister and the most important offices—the foreign office, the chancellorship of the exchequer, the ministry of munitions—were still held by liberals; but in which all the conservative leaders and some representatives of labour were included. this govt. continued to direct the operations of war until the late autumn of 1916. owing to that war’s prolonged contin- uance, with many disastrous defeats, the renewed attacks of the popular newspapers, and the gigantic loss of life and treasure, the public mind was prepared for a further change. an intrigue of a few men, ostensibly directed toward giving mr. lloyd george control of the war operations but in fact designed to exclude mr. asquith and the liberals from the cabinet, proved unexpectedly successful. mr. asquith resigned with all his liberal colleagues. mr. lloyd george constructed a cabinet composed of conservatives, some minor liberal members, labour members and business men. mr. lloyd george as premier.—for the next two years mr. as- quith and his followers, being a substantial majority of the liberal members in the house of commons, confined them- selves to suggestions and criticism. but their support for an inquiry into the allegations made by sir frederick maurice on the conditions which led to the greatest defeat the british army has ever experienced on march 21 1918, created a break between the two sections of the party. in the following autumn, when germany was utterly vanquished, mr. lloyd george issued what was called a coupon, contained in a letter signed by him- self and mr. bonar law, which was published as a recommenda- tion to voters in all constituencies to vote against liberal mem- bers and candidates who still declared allegiance to mr. asquith. the election of 1918.—the result was a debacle. mr. asquith and all the liberal ex-ministers who were faithful to him were defeated and only some 30 such liberals were returned. these, under the leadership of sir donald maclean, who had liberia never held cabinet office, maintained some sort of opposition against the overwhelming forces of mr. lloyd george’s coalition, it soon became apparent, however, that the great mass of the liberals in the country were bitterly opposed to this liberal- tory combination. mr. asquith was returned for paisley at a by-election and assumed the leadership of what was scornfully termed the wee frees. in a fierce political civil war, carried on for three vears, it was obvious that mr. lloyd george’s nominees could only be elected by conservative votes and that the lib- erals were cither in large numbers joining labour or remaining doggedly determined to destroy the coalition. in 1922 mr. lloyd george and his coalition were overthrown by an intrigue, very similar to, and in part conducted by the same men, the one which had placed him in power. a con- servative govt. was formed and in the appeal to the country liberal was still found fighting liberal, the result being the destruction of a considerable section of mr. lloyd george's followers, thus leaving the two liberal sections still in a negligi- ble minority in the house of commons. liberal reunion.—the year after, however, mr. baldwin, who had succeeded mr. bonar law as prime minister, unex- pectedly appealed to the country for a general tariff as a means of relieving unemployment. the liberal leaders came together on so vital a question; mr. lloyd george accepted mr. asquith as leader of the party, and the two ex-prime ministers issued a joint appeal. the distrust of the coalition by the liberals in the country, however, had caused so many to turn to labour that, although those who had been followers of mr. asquith gained a large number of seats, the number of those who had been concerned with the conservatives and the “ coupon,” were still further diminished. although they had secured sub- stantially the same number of votes, the liberals found them- selves in members 30 behind the labour party, and with no party in a majority, mr. asquith announced the intention of the liberals to support a labour government. for nearly a year that labour govt. was retained in office by the votes of liberal members, although it refused any agreements or consultation concerning policy and set up candidates in almost every con- stituency against the liberals who were supporting it in the house. the election of 1924.—such an impossible position was ter- minated in unexpected and almost casual fashion. the labour prime minister decided to dissolve parliament in preference to accepting any form of inquiry concerning the vague insinuations associated with the initiation and then withdrawal of a prose- cution against a communist newspaper and its temporary eclitor, mr. campbell. in the dissolution which followed, while labour received a severe setback, the liberal party in parliament was almost annihilated although polling more than 3,000,000 votes and the largest conservative majority was returned since the great reform bill. mr. asquith, who was defeated, retired to the house of lords as lord oxford, but remained leader of the liberal party. mr. lloyd george was elected chairman of the liberal ‘‘ rump ” of 40 that remained in the ilouse of commons, of whom some ro formed themselves into a radical group and refused to accept his leadership. the remaining 30 were mostly elected by conservative votes and some were pledged, in critical divisions, never to vote against the conservative government. this desperate condition in parliament was, however, not reflected by the liberals in the country who over large areas proceeded to initiate liberal campaigns, to collect substantial funds, and to prepare for a reversal of the decision when the next general election should come. the liberal party also set itself down to consider vital social programmes; to issue pro- nouncements on such subjects as coal and power, the land and the nation and towns and the land. a small group in the jtouse of commons maintained a lively opposition to mr. winston churchill’s budget of 1925 and to any tampering with free trade in the safeguarding of industries bill. the revolutionary conclusions of mr. lloyd george’s land committee, in part watered down by a compromise with the liberal candidates association, were accepted by the delegates 795 in a great liberal convention representing the whole of the country, as an essential part of liberal policy. this formed a cause or an excuse for flight from the party of certain ex-minis- ters and persons of wealth. in 1926, however, lord oxford remained undisputed leader of the party as a whole, and mr. lloyd george chairman of a rather forlorn and divided group in the house of commons, while great energy was being shown by a land and nation league to spread the new reform doctrines especially in rural england, and vigorous attempts were made to reverse the verdict of the last election and place some 500 liberal candidates in the field before the next appeal to the electors. (sce encuisi history.) (c. f. g. m.) early in may this co-operation was intcrrupted by a serious difference between lord oxford and mr. lloyd george over the general strike which broke out on may 3. lord oxford held with the government that the gencral strike, being a threat to the constitution, must be defeated before any negotiations for peace were considered. mr. lloyd george attributed the strike to precipitate action by the cabinet which he condemned and sup- ported the plea of the archbishop of canterbury for a negotiated peace. on may ro mr. lloyd george declined in writing to attend a meeting of the shadow cabinet summoned by lord oxford who, in communications of some severity, interpreted this abstention as tantamount to resignation. mr. lloyd george refused to resign and at meetings of the liberals who had seats in the house of commons was supported in that attitude by 20 votcs to to. the situation was complicated by mr. lloyd george’s contributions to the press in the united states and by his alleged but strongly denicd negotiations with mr. dhilip snowden, representing moderate labour. also, lord gladstone accused mr. lloyd george of withholding the funds with which he was entrusted at the late general election. (ep. eb.)