The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 29, 1909 POLITICAL SITUATION IN ENGLAND.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2619, 29 September 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 29, 1909 POLITICAL SITUATION IN ENGLAND.

In the brief and disjointed items of information which are supplied by cable it is not easy to form an intelligible estimate of the course of British politics, but late exchanges to hand give some instructive reading. It would appear that about .six weeks ago there became apparent a very pronounced wave of feeling in favor of the much disputed Budget. Prior to this opinions in the country appeared to be so evenly divided that neither one side or the other could claim a marked advantage. Each party would, of course, publicly proclaim that the mass of the people were on its side, but this confident assurance was merely looked upon as an inevitable feature in political campaigns, where the old adage “nothing succeeds like success” receives great consideration. Inwardly both the supporters and opponents of the Budget had grave misgivings as to the result of an appeal to the electors in regard to its provisions. Outward manifestation of that feeling was given in the concessions each side were prepared to make. The London “Soectator,” the qhampion of the Conservatives, suggested that the Lords, while rejecting the land proposals, "hould pass the rest of the Budget, and on the other hand Mr Asquith accepted very many notable amendments during the discussion in Parliament. But on August 4th the “Times” announced that those who were sensitive to public opinion realised that the Budget was becoming more popular, and on the following day the “Daily Mail” published on its centre page what almost amounted to a panegyric of the great Finance Bill. As the “Spectator” sarcastically remarked:

The great part read like a speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in one of his more chastened moods. We were told of all the wonderful things which are going to be done in the way of home development by the funds, provided by the Budget. Everybody, from the out-of-work to the millionaire motorist, is to have a bit, and the country is to break out into an eruption qf new roads, forests,

labor exchanges, light railways, canals, harbors, and other public improvements. It is true that next day the “Daily Mail” vaguely suggested that the Budget ought to be fought more vigorously, and that Tariff -Reform would produce the money quite as well as Mr LloydGeorge’s scheme; but the dazzling picture of a great national “surprise packet” for every-_-ono clearly held the field. Since the mail left Lord Rosebery delivered his famous oration against the Budget, but it i s questionable whether even his masterly attack will have had any material effect in regard to public opinion. As the fight proceeds it becomes more and more ovident that it is to be largely a class war and the intrinsic features of the Budget are likely to he lost sight of in a straight-out contest between the people and the Lords. This tendency seems to be encouraged by trie Government, for Mr Lloyd-George in'his later speeches has been indulging in most virulent personal attacks upon the “Dukes of England” and other large land-holders. Mr Winston Churchill makes a good second in these barefaced appeals "to class prejudice, and the success of their methods is emphasised by the increased boldness with which the Premier challenges the Lords to throw out his Budget. Six months ago it was by no means certain that Mr Asquith would allow his proposals to go before the people; now it is only the probable date of a general election which is in question.