NEWS OF THE WEEK.
BY far the most important political event of the week was the action taken by Mr. Bonar Law in the House of Com- mons on Thursday night. A quarter of an hour before the guil- lotine began its work the Unionist leader, in a vigorous but in no sense unfair or exaggerated speech, denounced the Govern- ment for their garrotting of debate. They were about to insist that 470 amendments should be voted without discussion. The House of Commons had ceased to exist as a legislative Assembly. Of the 470 outstanding amendments many had never been discussed at all, and the fact that there had been a continuous hail of Government amendments proved that the Government did not know from hour to hour what they ought to do. The action of the Government was dictated by the Nationalist Party. The interests of every member of the population were being sacrificed in order that there might be no obstacle in the way of Home Rule next year. This asser- tion will of course be denied, but it is in truth nothing but a plain statement of a plain fact.
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