10 AUGUST 1918, Page 3

They employed, in fact, the same device as in dealing

with Irish Conscription. They established the principle of Conscription for Ireland, but left the application of it to an indefinite date by Order in Council. The Reform Acts of 1867 and 1884 proceeded quite differently. In the Act of 1867 a definite date, January 1st, 1869, was fixed, and this was altered afterwards to November 1st, 1868. In the Act of 1884 it was provided that the Act "shall' commence and come into operation on January 1st, 1885." To sum up, the text of the new Reform Aot was designed to release us from the bonds of custom. If the Government force a General Election, they will do so because it is convenient to themselves, and not because custom, propriety, or the exigencies of the war require it.