The Government, moved, it is believed, chiefly by the legal
diffi- culty of obtaining money for the Afghan war without a Parlia- mentary Vote, has summoned Parliament for December 5th. It is believed that the Houses will sit till December 20th, when they will adjourn to the usual time of meeting—the second week in February —and that the only topic will be our policy in Central Asia. The debates will be long and probably bitter, more especially in the Upper House, where Lords Beaconsfield and Salisbury will meet in Lords Lawrence, Northbrook, and Halifax, and we hope the Duke of Argyll, opponents worthy of their steel, and far better informed than themselves. The whole policy of the Government will be overhauled, and the Ministers compelled, at all events, to explain what their ultimate purposes are, and how far they intend to go. It is reported on all sides that the deci- sion to summon Parliament was arrived at only after fierce debate, and that the dissensions in the Cabinet are most serious. No Minister has, however, as yet angrily denied their existence, so secessions are not quite certain within the next week.
