13 MAY 1911, Page 3

As the writer goes on to observe, Mr. Asquith apparently

prefers a system which would have placed the electors in a dilemma. They must either turn out the Government and replace it by one they disliked, or allow it complete liberty to increase its own powers beyond limit. This view is borne out by Mr. MacGowan, the Premier of New South Wales, who, in an interview with Reuter, expresses the view that the Referen- dum was the logical sequel of the belief that the people's will should be supreme, and gives the electors a chance of express- ing their wishes without reference to the personal influences which affect a General Election.