LIBERALS AND LABOUR.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."' Sia,—In your issue of February 14th in your " leader " entitled " The Position of the Parties" you use these words regarding Mr. Asquith's candidature at Paisley :-
" If there was any drift of the remnant of Independent Liberals towards Labour, Mr. Asquith has undoubtedly checked it. He has spoken the pure gospel of Individualism as against Socialism. . . . It can hardly be wrong to trace the effect of Mr. Asquith's decision in Mr. Lloyd George's very powerful onslaught on Socialism on Wednesday."
As to your conviction that the Prime Minister's powerful speech against the nationalization of mines was directly trace- able to Mr. Asquith's pronouncement, I feel just as convinced that the one had nothing whatever to do with the other. Mr. Lloyd George's mind had been made up long before Mr. Asquith spoke, but of course you seldom see any good in almost anything the Prime Minister says or does.
Well, what happened at the division on the nationalization of mines ? Did it show any sign that the drift of Independent Liberals towards Labour had been checked? Out of the twenty-four Members belonging to the former party, eight voted with the Labour Party for nationalization, and only four voted with the Government against it. Amongst those who voted for nationalization was Mr. Rogge, Member for East Edinburgh, one of the Whips of the party. Sir Donald Maclean, the leader of it, was absent from the division, though I saw him in the House earlier in the evening. Including him, there were twelve absentees!
There is not much evidence there, is there, of the undoubted checking of the drift towards Labour, and the adoption of the
pure gospel of Individualism preached by Mr. Asquith during his Paisley campaign? In fact, in my bumble judgment, a large proportion, I might almost say the majority, of his professed followers in the House have much more affinity with the Labour Party than with the traditional Liberal Party of which Mr. Asquith is acknowledged to be the head, and whose policy he declares to be the only true and safe policy for the country.
All through last Session I kept a careful watch on the divisions, and have done the same since this Session began, and all I am saying can be proved by the examination of Hansard.—
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