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Show Irish Leader's Effective Answer. (From the London Morning Leader.) Perhaps the most extraordinary feature fea-ture was the revelation of the plight of the Tory party. That party began in its happiest mood. The five rows of gentlemen who sit behind Mr. Balfour Bal-four were in the very highest spirits. The punctuated every sentence of Mr. Asquith's speech with irreverent laughter. laugh-ter. They rollicked and joked; they held their sides with merriment at the government's veto scheme just as, so history tells us, the Tories' of 1831 laughed at the first exposition of the great reform bill by Lord John Russell. Rus-sell. Then came Mr. Balfour's speech one of those .speeches of easy, subtle sub-tle levity and mockery, in which every aristocracy has revelled in its hour at his jests. They rejoiced at the discomfiture dis-comfiture of the Liberals, who sat In long, dumb, frigid miserable rows. But the first hitch occurred when John Redmond, turning from his account ac-count of his attitude, put one straight question to the Tories. How were they going to vote? Would they vote against the government Mr. Balfour evaded the question; but Mr. Redmond brushed aside the evasion. "No," he said, with a deadly accuracy of aim, "they are not going to vote against the government. govern-ment. And why? Because they dreaded dread-ed a dissolution." Now it was the time for Tories to be worried. Mr. Balfour turned to Mr. Chamberjain, and there was a brief and excited dialogue between be-tween them on the front opposition bench, under the eyes of the- whole house, watching with the keenness of men who saw their fate hanging in the balance. Then, at the end of Mr. Redmond's speech, the front opposition bench became suddenly vacant. The occupants had all retired to consider their attitude. |
