[TO TREI EDITOR Or ms " SPECTATOR.") Sin, — Mr. Boner Law
has spoken, Mr. Lloyd George has spoken, and every one according to his fancy can decide for himself who has the better of the argument. Mr. Lloyd George certainly spoke truly when he said that the Conser- vative Party in the House of Commons had constantly pressed him to spend more money instead of less than what be did spend, and Mr. Bonar Law was therefore not justified in complaining about the amount of our national expenditure. Both sides promise social reforms. Social reform means simply that the Government is to spend the people's money instead of the people spending their own money. A broker has to be employed to do this in the shape of the paid official, and the people are the poorer by the amount of the brokerage and the lose of self-reliance and personal responsibility. Everybody whose wages are under £160 a year is going to have them reduced threepence or fourpence a week by the insur- ance tax. The Government thinks it can spend that money with the aid of paid officials better than the friendly societies with (for the most part) unpaid voluntary officials. How long will it be before the Government puts its claw on some further portion of a man's wages ? The working man would be such a pattern of excellence if he would only let the Government spend all his wages for him, wouldn't he ? But be won't : he is beginning to kick, and he is beginning to think, and what he is thinking is: How has my position been improved in recent years by Parliament sitting for eight or nine months each year ? What good has Parliament done with its orgy of legisla- tion P What has been the result of the Eight Hours Act. Employers' Liability Acts, Small Holdings Acts, and hosts of other Acts, vainly trying to reconstruct society? Two-edged swords, every one of them. To come back to Mr. Bonar Law, Mr. Lloyd George, and the price of Consols. The best way to put up Consols would be for an announcement to be made that there would be no fresh legislation for seven years. The money bags would soon be untied, the capitalist would embark in fresh enterprises and compete for labour, and wages would rapidly advance. It would pay the country handsomely to give every M.P. 21,000 a year to stay away from Westminster, rather than 2400 a year to go there and make fresh laws. Of course, it won't be done, but if Mr. Bonar Law wants the Conservative Party to come into power, why not promise the country a rest instead of a tariff ? The country is neurotic and charged with electricity, and a rest- cure would be highly beneficial. The price of Consols would immediately respond. The country wants a party which is Conservative instead of a Conservative Party, and there isn't one to be bad for love or money. Till there is, Mr. Lloyd George may be expected to flourish like a green bay tree. The pity 'of it I Well, well, we shall muddle" through, and it is
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