Salt Lake Tribune | 1914-02-13 | Page 8 | General Election Demanded by Lords

GENERAL ELECTION DEMANDEDBY LORDS Upper House of British Parliament Par-liament Is Still Controlled by Tories LONDON, Feb. 12. "You could easily smash tho British omplre in a day'a do-bato do-bato In parliament If you tried to Interfere Inter-fere with the autonomy granted to Its various parts," was tho statement of LcwIb Harcourt, secretary for tho colonics, colo-nics, in parliament today. Ho was replying re-plying to an amendment moved by tho Labor members In the house of commons com-mons to tho address in reply to the lilnK's speech. Tho Labor members had urKcd that tho government withhold Us assent to tho bill of Premier Louis Botha of South Africa Indemnifying tho South African Kovernment for Its act in deporting tho labor leaders after tho recent general strike there. Without defending the notion of the Botha government, Mr. Hnrcourl pointed out that there were In South Africa only 1 ll'S 000 whites to 5.000,000 natives, who when work had ceased at tho mines bo-came bo-came hungry and dangerous. lie added: "That In tho sort of volcano on which everyone was sitting in South Africa." Mr. Harcourt declined to address the Icing to withhold his sanction from the bill if It passed, and he declared that such advice would he ontiroly unjustifiable. unjustifi-able. Ho urged the spcaKers during the debate to be careful of the ycnnltlveness of the. self-governing dominions and to refrain from saying anything derogatory deroga-tory to an autonomous govcrnmont. Tho house of lords today adopted an amendment to tho nddres in reply to the speech from tho throne demanding a general election on the question of homo rule for Ireland. The majority in favor of the amendment was 1S8. The vote followed strict party lines and showed that the discussion of homo rule for Ireland, which has lasted thirty vcars, ha:i not changed the opinion of tho Tory majority in the upper chamber.