Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-11-01 | Page 6 | Vote of Confidence

turcs and the diminution of the public debt." The ministers' speeches in the commons concerning this resolution did not specify what these proposals would contemplate, and future government measures must enlighten on that point. The vote shows that Lloyd George and Ml cabinet are trusted to do the best they can. It also shows that the opposition op-position to the coalition government has not yet reached the point where it can be considered as a serious challenging chal-lenging force. VOTE OF CONFIDENCE. More to the point than the recent vote by which the Lloyd George ministry min-istry was defeated on the question of alien pilotage was the emphatic result re-sult of the division in tho commons when the government's war financial policy was put to the issue in the house. The government was given a vote of confidence, its supporters mustering the ovcrwhehniug majority of 355. Here, to be sure, was a clear-cut question, affirmation or rejection of the financial policy as outlined by the chancellor of the exchequer. It involved in-volved a larger issue than the pilotage question afforded, and if, as has been hinted, the Lloyd George government was wobbling in public favor, a division divi-sion in the commons would have offered the coveted chanco to upset the ministry minis-try and send the government flying out of Downing street and Westminster. Westmin-ster. Chamberlain's estimates called for no serious retrenchments and promised prom-ised no radical reforms, hence the disgruntled dis-gruntled elements in the commons could have found a convenient pretext for a combined assault upon the coalition ministry. The result, however, was so large a majority for the ministerial benches that Lloyd George may be considered as having a firm grip ou the governmental govern-mental reins. The division was upon the cabinet resolution pledging support to the government "in all reasonable proposals for the reduction of cxreudi-