When the debate in the Commons was continued on Tuesday
it extended beyond the subject of the land taxes, and was chiefly remarkable for a grandiose tribute to Mr. Lloyd George's " social reforms " by Mr. Masterman. Mr. Masterman said that Unionists were unwilling to look beyond the land taxes because they were " more or less stunned "—we thank him for the phrase—by the success of Mr. Lloyd George's policy. Mr. Lloyd George had set out to save Free Trade and had done so. While other nations, tormented by the two evils of conscription and Protection, were resorting to the desperate expedient of meeting current liabilities by borrowing, Mr. Lloyd George had been paying off capital liabilities not by hundreds of thousands, but literally by tens of millions. While other nations had been compelled by the burden of armaments to shut down their schemes of social progress, Mr. Lloyd George had launched and financed "the most gigantic scheme of social amelioration the world had ever seen." "In its courage and triumph the work of his right hon. friend would be regarded as one of the most amazing financial achievements the world had ever known." At this point some strangers in the gallery gave way to their emotion, clapped their bands, and were suppressed. For ourselves, we feel more inclined to say what Dr. Johnson said to the young lady who recited a long eulogium in his presence : "Fiddlededee, my dear, fiddlededee." The tea duty and the income tax were agreed to without divisions.
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