- We cannot ' pursue all the ramifications of the situation
`thus created, but we may say generally that it is obvious that the notion of the Government is that they will .bate brought about such a situation by the middle- of May that they will be able to force the Budget through an ,unwilling House of Commons by the threat that the only
alternative is administrative chaos. The Opposition, it is calculated, will not dare to put the Government in a minority over the Budget, because, if they do, they will be obliged t3 take office. That course will be impossible to them, as the Liberals would immediately refuse them Supply. In addition, it is calculated that if the Lords reject the Govern- ment proposals for dealing with the veto, the Government will be able to put the screw on them owing to the financial situation. We venture to say that though these tactics sound very clever, the Cabinet will get nothing by them, and that in the end the country will realise what is being done and where the responsibility lies. The policy of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face may be made to look very ingenious for a time, but when the knife begins to cut it is a different matter altogether.
