for which they have been continually let off much too cheaply by some of our Front Benchers, but we should be the last to attack a great stroke of Imperial policy, which shows that somewhere or another, rarely as it manifests itself, there is latent in Mr. Asquith's Cabinet sounder instincts than those which usually inspire the Government of snobbery, jobbery, and robbery. Debate in the Is the House of Commons the task of moving and seconding the reply to the speech from the Throne was entrusted to two juvenile democrats, both belonging to wellknown Liberal families, gloriously garbed for the occasion, who acquitted themselves with distinction and modesty. Home Rule apparently excites a minimum of enthusiasm among Liberals, if we may judge from the utterance of Sir H. Verney, the Mover, who, after announcing that there a growing feeling of the necessity for some wide scheme of devolution for the business of this House, dictated not by the honourable and learned gentleman, the Member for Waterford, but by every consideration of common sense and business efficiency," added, amid loud Opposition cheers, that "It will be the duty of Members in all parts of the House to put down such safeguards, restrictions, and prohibitions as they think necessary," after which the speaker created much laughter by a delicious ball, prophesying that the Nationalist Members below the gangway will be the first to submit to prohibitions against injustices which they have no intention of committing." Then, again, Welsh Disestablishment was an extremely thorny problem," upon which the speaker was qualified to speak, having been born near Llanfairpwll-gwyngyll, and having spent his ineymoon "between Llanfairpwll-gwyngyll and Llanerchynedd," and he expressed the hope that as it had been a live Welsh question for nearly three hundred years it" might decently be decided now." The House of Commons was intensely interested the personality of Mr. W. G. C. Gladstone, grandson of the Grand Old Man, who claimed indulgence on the ground that his perience of politics was practically nil and of Parliament a great deal less. "There is another ground upon which I ask for the sympathy and indulgence of the House, and it is this: I feel I shall fall altogether short of the expectation which might TOL. LIX 3* conceivably and very incautiously be formed by some of on who bears the name I do." He contented himself with a modes recapitulation of the topics mentioned in the King's Speech which completely disarmed his audience, as he repeatedly apolo gised for his inexperience and inability-a rare and refreshing contrast to the demeanour of politicians on the make, and som of the professors of "swank" on the Treasury Bench migh usefully learn a lesson in deportment from the latest recruit to the Radical Party. Mr. Bonar MR. BONAR LAW's first appearance as Leader of the Opposition on the opening of Parliament had been awaited with eager anticipa tion, and he more than fulfilled the great expectations of his friends by delivering a speech which possessed every merit, especially that of exasperating the pompous impostor at the head of the Government and the great Cocoa claque behind him, which with one accord commencec to call for the blood of Mr. Bonar Law and the restoration of Mr Balfour to the Leadership of the Opposition! It is a poor compli ment to Mr. Balfour, but Mr. Bonar Law could receive no higher tribute, and subsequent events have abundantly justified his keen, determined, and remorseless criticism of the Government of snobbery, jobbery, and robbery. He began, as is customary on these occasions, with a well-turned compliment to the Move and Seconder of the Address. "It is a tradition that the Leader of the Opposition should praise those two speeches, whether they are good or bad. I am really thankful that on the first occasior when this duty falls to me I am able sincerely and without any mental reservation to congratulate the Mover of the Address on what certainly is to me the most interesting speech on the occasion which I have ever heard, and I may add that it seems to me that any one who is able to pronounce without hesitation and without a smile the two interesting villages named by the honourable baronet has no limits which he need set to his Parliamentary ambition." With With "equal sincerity" Mr. Bonar Law congratulated the Seconder on a speech which had given pleasure in every quarter of the House, that was enhanced by the modesty of its delivery. Mr. Gladstone occupied a special position, pace the Member for Merthyr Tydvil, as heredity still counted for a great deal, and no Member of Parliament could forget or would wish to forget the great part played in that assembly for sixty years by the grandfather of the Seconder of the Address. Then Mr. Bonar Law came to close quarters with the enemy. "Now, Mr. Speaker, I have done with compliments, and I am sorry to say that I do not think they will be very frequent during the session upon which we have now entered. I do not, I Tay add, feel at all bound by the self-denying ordinance which applies to the two honourable gentlemen who have spoken. I Ana Conservative, not merely in a Party sense, but I think by temperament, and I like old forms when they have any meaning. But there must be a good many Members of this House who feel that this somewhat stately pageantry, reminding us of the past, is a little of an anachronism to-day." Amateur THE present Prime Minister had delivered an eloquent oration, emphasising the gradual evolution of the Constitution, in which he had said, in substance: "The constitutional forms under which we live have come down to us almost unchanged through the centuries. The body is old, but the spirit by which it is animated is always new.” Strangely enough, that speech had been made in connection with the very Bill the object of which was to destroy the Constituon, whose glories were thus extolled. "He has succeeded. He has destroyed the Second Chamber, as he expected, but le has done something else. He has . . . not less effectually stroyed the House of Commons as a legislative assembly, and it ems to me almost a pity that we should have these old forms ich can only remind us of a Constitution which we have lost." There was no limit to the subjects which might be discussed in a Seech on the Address, and Mr. Bonar Law traversed some of the and simultaneously covered by Lord Lansdowne. Debates on reign Affairs in that House presented an amazing spectacle g to the attitude of Radicals below the gangway towards her Foreign Minister. "Their speeches were divided into two water-tight compartments. In one of them they accused the right Lourable gentleman of having adopted a policy which might ave landed us in a war with Germany. Then they switched about. The other compartment consisted of attacks equally violent, because he had not adopted a policy towards Russi which would inevitably have landed us in a war with that country. He would not imitate that kind of criticism, though he adhere to the view that where secrecy was not necessary it was undesi able, and he hoped the Government would enlighten them o Persian affairs. His comments on Lord Haldane's performance in Berlin were deservedly caustic. In another sphere, "Ou diplomacy lately has been carried into the limelight in a way never remember in my past experience. We have had Lor Haldane engaged in some mysterious mission in Berlin, of whic no one understands the purpose." The speaker did not believ in amateur diplomacy. 'And if it were necessary for any Ministe to go, I should have thought that the proper Minister was th Foreign Secretary. I have seen it stated in some Radical news papers that Lord Haldane has the advantage of speaking Germar That is not an uncommon accomplishment. I suppose ou Ambassador at Berlin can also speak German, and that is hardl an adequate explanation. Indeed, to one who can only loo at it from the outside, our recent diplomatic performance seem to me an extraordinary puzzle," which it might be hoped th Premier would do something to solve. The Two 66 THE First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. Churchill) had been criticise for saying that the German Navy stood for expansion an the British Navy for existence. Mr. Bonar La said: "The words are true, and they are the onl justification for our determination to maintain Navy such as we mean to maintain. The positions are no the same. Suppose that we were at war with Germany. Suppose we were able to destroy the German fleet and t cripple German commerce; even then we could not touc the heart of the German Empire. But suppose the positio were reversed. Suppose they had command of the Channe for two or three weeks, or less; they have an army with whic we cannot in any sense compete. They could strike us dow and strike us down utterly. I say and I am sure that ever say—and man in this House agrees with me-that for us a supreme Nav under these circumstances is absolutely indispensable, and wi be maintained at whatever cost of money or sacrifice." Whil bping for a good understanding, "I believe that if we make it dear that we are going to act in that way it will be also evident that an increase of armament does not alter the relative position, and is only a waste of money." Turning to Home Affairs, the Leader of the Opposition desired to know when the various Bills uld be introduced, how much time they were expected to cupy, whether there would be an Autumn session, and whether the Budget would emerge before Christmas. One subject was conspicuous by its absence from the Most Gracious Speech. But it is what I consider the most outstanding feature in the hetory of the Government so far, and that is their broken pledge -I use the words deliberately-their broken pledge in regard to the reconstruction of the Second Chamber." The Government were to be congratulated on having abandoned their policy of make-believe by not putting this question in the King's Speech. Then they would like to know something about the Franchise, Lich, according to the Radical Press, would be one of the biggest reforms that had ever taken place, though the wording of the Speech might signify nothing more than a modest measure of registration reform. "Perhaps the Prime Minister will tell us at it does mean? If he is not in a position to do so to-day, if the fight in the Cabinet on the subject is not yet quite over, then as soon as the conflict is settled I hope he will give us the result of the battle." The Insur ince Act The Chancellor of the Exchequer might enlighten them conerring the Insurance Act, which now occupied an amazing position. The Opposition had moved an amendment last Session urging the postponement of the Bill because it had not been properly conwered by the country. "What is the Government doing For once they have played into our hands in a way for I thank them. They are employing their whole Party achinery to explain to the country a measure, not before, but er it has become law!" In this connection he would ask the Prime Minister a question, even though it might not seem a very portant one. He had been told "that while the Liberal InFrance Committee, as it is now called, was masquerading under e name of the National Insurance Committee, public money |