OCR Text |
Show COMMONS WINS GREAT FIGHT IN ENGLAND Irish Leaders Confident the Way Now Is Open to Home Role. . LONDON, Aug. 11. The official report re-port of the proceedings st yestrdy's session of the house of commons issued todsy eontsins tbe snnouneement on formal official terms tbat a messags has been received from the house of lords stating that they will not insist on their amendments to ths psrliamentsry bill, to whieh the house of commons had disagreed, and have agreed to the consequential amendment to the bill proposed by ths house of eommons. Thus will be recorded in the documents docu-ments of parliament the greatest victory achieved by a Liberal prime minister in a century, for although Unionist votes passed the bill in the upper chamber last night, history will give the credit to Premier Asquith's audacious policy. Margin Is Narrow. Ths grest constitutions! struggle ended last night when tbe house of lords, br a vote of 131 toy lie, adopted Viscount Morley's motion not to insist on the lords' smeodments to the veto bill, the purpose of which is to reetrain the powers of the upper chamber over legislation originating in 'the lower house and whieh may result, among other things, in home rule for Ireland. The veto bill practically limits ths authority au-thority of tbe house of lords to a two years' suspensory veto snd greatly increases ths prerogative of ths house of eommons. The measure could not possibly hsve passed th house of lords except ss it wss snewn mat lis rejection wouiq do followed immedistelr by the creation of sufficient new peers to en f ore tbs will of th lower chamber and which, the government asserts. Is tb -will of tbe people. : The victory was all th greater as it was achieved" with a composite msjoritv in th boos of eommons over whieh th government whin bsd no eontrol. While there ia -s 'strong public opiaion opposed to a radical change in the constitution and even many Liberal peers thought thst ths government was going too far, aatisfsetlon is general that the end of a situstion which has kept polities ia a turmoil so long has been reached. Result Wall aVsceived. In ths press and among ths people todsy the result was discussed with moderation and already interest is turning turn-ing to other metiers. Certainly ths recent re-cent rift hss sot dons tbs Unionist party par-ty Bay good, and ia the fotur there will be always ths possibility of the sore breaking out should ths leaders show sny weakness on a question of national na-tional importance. However, a strong effort is being made to bring the two sections together on a strong platform, among the chief planks of which will be the repeal of the parliament bill and the reform of the house of lords as outlined ia Lord Lansdowne 's bill. Ths esrl of Selborne, ths only possible possi-ble leader of the Unionists outside of A. J. Balfour, will rejoia the leader under un-der this policy and a maiority of his followers snd the balk of the opposition psrty will fall ia lias. The earl of Halsburr, the moat unrelenting of the "die hsrds," is now too old to take np the leadership of even a section of the psrty, aad h probably will retire from active politics. A few lik Lord Willowboughby de Broke and other fighting peers will always remain with tha party, ready to attack any sign of leaning to the democracy, but aa they have always dons this th effeet will not be serious. See la It Horns Sol. Ths Irish leaders are confident that th way is bow open to home rule and from the ststement of Horn Secretary Secre-tary Churchill in the house of commons thst ths government intended te pass s home rule measure during the present parliament, their confidence appears to soms sxtent justified. It must ha remembered, re-membered, however, that ths lords will still be sbl to delsy ths passags of such a bill two veers, and they eaa be depended on to delay horns rule so long as it is possible for them to do so. At the earliest the Mil could not be Introduced In-troduced until It te sprtng. and It would ba strongly fought In the houee of oom-mona. oom-mona. The lords would then throw It out and eome time muat elape before It could be again presented, ao much depentfa on whether the government will be abl to hold out that long. An election with the parliament bID as aa Issue probably would reault favorably favor-ably to the government, but an election over tarn queettoa of home rule for Ireland Ire-land ia another matter. There Is an tn-freaslng tn-freaslng number of people In England formerly opposed to home rule who era now prepared to give Ireland a local self government, which la all that John Ited-mood Ited-mood aak, at present, and acoordlna-ly the prospects of an electlo non thla teeue are not as threatening aa heretofore. |