Mr. Morley delivered a striking speech at the National Liberal
Club on Friday week. He strongly denounced the Education Bill, and particularly recent amendments by the Government, as giving an unfair quantity of national money to one denomination. His own view as an outsider, neither Churchman nor Nonconformist, is apparently in favour of the Scotch system. He was, also, even contemptuous as to the ability of the Government to deal with the Irish land question. We should get nothing out of them but pottering and coercion. Ireland needed Home-rule. On several questions, however, he exhibited a complete detachment from party views. He still regarded the South African War as a "bad blunder," but admitted that it had demon- strated in a very wonderful degree "the energy, the stead- fastness, and the fixity of purpose in the people," and he was not without hope that the people would now turn to domestic affairs and display in them the same qualities. And he utterly repudiated the nonsense uttered by several of his colleagues about the necessity for a "mandate" before a Bill like the Education Bill was passed. He reminded his audience that Mr. Gladstone had no mandate for his Home- rule Bill, or the Tories for the recent war. When you put a Government in power "the safety of the country requires, common-sense requires, the Constitution requires, that the Government should be able to bring in whatever legislation they think fit." He paid a warm tribute to Mr. Chamber. lain, and regarded his mission to South Africa with confi- dence, not only because of his ability, but because those who are most likely to make difficulties regard Mr. Chamberlain as their master, and know that his advice will show the "high- water mark" beyond which the country will not go.
Previous page
