Mr. Aberhart's Escape In the last week Mr. Aberhart, the
Premier of Alberta, has received three rebuffs in the Legislature, which have brought him to the verge of resignation and defeat—the crisis being caused not by his financial experiments but by his failure to apply the strict Social Credit programme quickly enough. Rebellious members of his own party, angered by his delay in fulfilling his promises, united with the Opposi- tion and exploited the opportunity offered by the debate on the Budget. Last week Mr. Aberhart was defeated for the first time in the Legislature when they voted down a motion to adjourn the debate ; on Monday they defeated a motion to apply the closure to the debate itself, in which they adopted " filibustering " methods ; on Tuesday they refused their consent to the introduction of an interim supply vote covering 6o days. Mr. Aberhart, however, was able to avoid resig- nation by capitulating to the rebels, accepting two Bills which he had denounced from the pulpit on Sunday, and intro- ducing a third Bill appointing a Commission to establish Social Credit within three months. On these terms the opposition is willing to grant a supply of £ t,000,000 for the interim period and the Budget will be withdrawn ; but Mr. Aberhart's escape was probably only possible because the rebel social creditors were incapable of forming an alternative Government themselves. And he remains as safe as an ele- phant on a tight-rope.
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