Crown & Politics

(See front cover)

Grave issues of state and politics sharply focused world interest, last week, on Edward of Wales and on the leaders of Great Britain's three political parties. The secret had leaked out -after months of official concealment -that President William T. Cosgrave of the Irish Free State has been challenging the authority of the Crown Council as at present constituted. All ordinary powers of the King-Emperor were signed over by stricken George V (TIME, Dec. 17), to this Council, which consists of the Prime Minister, Lord High Chancellor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Duke of York, Edward of Wales and Queen Mary, who has thus far presided. Cables from Dublin revealed that the Irish Free State has been quietly refusing to deal with the Crown Council. Thus a grave issue of state was raised, even as the British Isles were politically in ferment, last week, over five crucial by-elections, and the coming General Parliamentary Election (TIME, March 11) for which camp-arguing is in full swing.

So troubled seemed Britain's political complexion that many looked for reassurance upon the face and symbol of Edward of Wales. Wildest Irishmen like him. He has just cemented his popularity with all classes -especially the lower -by what may yet grow to seem an epochal tour of the British Coal Fields (TIME, Feb. 1), where millions are jobless, well nigh starving, and might conceivably have turned against the Crown. With two gestures of convincing sincerity Edward of Wales did much to forestall that. The first gesture was his report on the unemployment situation, which he denounced in heartfelt fashion as "A ghastly mess! Worse than I would ever have believed!" His second gesture was to sell his whole string of horses, renounce the Royal sport of foxhunting, and settle down to the business of the Crown.

Today it is not a question of Power behind the Throne. Rather the British Empire, face to face with grave problems of curtailed trade and dire unemployment, looks to the Throne as a source of strength superior to political Power.

Crown Council Question. The position taken by President Cosgrave is that the Irish Free State will not recognize as competent to represent the British Crown any Council not composed exclusively of members of the Royal Family. The presence of such a politician as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin is, in the Irish Free State view, something not to be endured without the explicit and joint consent of all the British Dominions.

Of course all this is just Irish tosh, but the Queen-Empress and her advisers have apparently thought it unwise to overrule President Cosgrave openly. They were faced with a nasty dilemma when occasion arose for the Crown Council to accredit Mr. Michael MacWhite as Irish Free State Minister to the U.S. (TIME, March 25). But they found a weasel way out. Since the Irish were determined to honor none but Royal signatures, the necessary papers were signed by the Duke of York, Queen Mary and Edward of Wales only.

Faces were thus saved temporarily, but in London last week it was freely predicted that should George V remain invalid, an Imperial Conference will have to be called to settle the Crown Council Question beyond possibility of Irish cavil. Early in the week, several of the 22 subjects designated Knights in the delayed New Year's honors list tingled at the thought of kneeling in silk breeches to be dubbed (smacked between the shoulder blades) by the naked sword of Edward of Wales acting for George V. These ceremonies were postponed to allow the Prince to represent King George at Marshal Foch's funeral.

Five By-Elections. If the attention of the Speaker of the House of Commons is called to the fact that a Right Honorable Member is absent by reason of Death, he will issue a writ for the holding of a by-election to fill the vacant seat. Last week five such by-elections were held, although the five M.P.'s elected will hold their seats for less than two months, namely until May 10, when Parliament will be dissolved for a General Election. Therefore when two more M. P.'s suddenly died, the party chieftains got together, last week, and agreed that nobody would call the attention of "Mr. Speaker" to these two particular empty seats.

Straw Votes. Just as the citizens of the U.S. have "primaries" to tell them in advance of a Presidential Election whether the prevailing winds are Republican or Democratic, so the Englishman reads the signs of the times in "by-elections." Thus simple addition of the results of the last night by-elections since the General Election of 1924 shows that the Labor Party has won 93,000 votes, the Conservative or present Government Party 78,000, and the Liberals 58,000. On their face these figures -not to be bet on -seem to prophesy that the Conservative Cabinet will be replaced after the General Election by a Labor Government. The actual betting odds on London's stock exchange, last week, showed that Labor is expected to win from 263 to 267 seats, Conservatives 261-265, and Liberals 85-89. In the House of Commons today the Conservative Government holds a crushing majority of 400 seats, Labor 162, Liberals 46, Independents 7.

Henry Mond and Jenny Lee. Britain's most potent industrialist, Lord Melchett, saw his son, the Hon. Henry Mond, capture a seat for the Conservatives last week, by 3,000 plurality, whereas in 1924 the same seat went to another Conservative by a 9,000 majority. This bad news for Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was nothing, however, compared to that which he soon heard from North Lanarkshire, Scotland, where an immemorially Conservative seat was being fought for by Lord Scone, son of the Earl of Mansfield, a Scottish grand seignieur. Daring Laborites sent against Lord Scone pretty Miss Jenny Lee, 24, daughter of a coal-miner, "a dad who never in all his life earned more than three pounds [$15] a week." As a graduate with highest honors from the University of Edinburgh, Jenny Lee, who is entitled to practice law but teaches school instead, proved a most formidable antagonist, took the seat from Lord Scone by nearly 7,000 majority. Connoisseurs observed that of the ten female M.P.'s the only one possessed of both youth and beauty is now the Right Honorable Jenny Lee. As a whole the results of last week's five by-elections were considered, when viewed in the light of local conditions, a great blow to the Conservatives, a good showing for Labor and a brilliant one for the Liberals. Without the yardstick of a knowledge of local conditions the result might seem quite otherwise, for Conservatives won two seats, Liberals two, and only Jenny Lee won a seat for Labor. The real story is told however, by the betting odds (see above) which last week for the first time showed that the betting connoisseurs expect the Laborites to win more seats than the Conservatives.

Unemployment. In electioneering on the major issue of unemployment, the Labor Leader, James Ramsay MacDonald, is promising nowadays into many a microphone that if returned to the Prime Ministry, which he held in 1924, he will nationalize coal and related industries, and operate them to provide work at a living wage for the jobless. Meanwhile jaunty David Lloyd George, the Welsh Wizard of Liberalism, waves his empty silk hat and promises (TIME, March 25) to conjure out of it enough borrowed money to keep all the unemployed busy on road building and public works for five years. The steady-going fellow with the umbrella is Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, imperturbable leader of the Conservatives. He has spent all his life "muddling through" and has got on well enough. Just now he seems to have no very definite program; but, unlike many of his Conservative followers, he is not worried about that. Last week he produced nothing better than a few slings and arrows hurled higgledy-piggledy at Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Lloyd George.

Addressing a rally of 20,000 Conservatives in Leicester, the man with the umbrella observed, "As Lloyd George himself says, his scheme is as sound as the Welsh mountains. They are celebrated for their scenery. They probably afford pasturage for a few goats. ... To put his scheme into effect would require a Dictator. . . . A Dictator might do it. But we are not going to work under a Dictator."

Of the Laborites whom he calls Socialists, Mr. Baldwin said -prefacing his remarks with a rebuke to "Conservative Defeatists" -"I have no use in any party for waverers, grousers or people with cold feet. I have little sympathy with the kind of stuff I have seen recently in the [Conservative] press, 'socialism is setting the pace; something must be done.'

"Socialism at present is setting very little pace. The Socialists are waiting. They are trusting to win less on their program than by lulling us to sleep on our apathy. And while they have been waiting, the bold spirit of Mr. Lloyd George has jumped in. ...

"His feet are no longer on the ground. . . . He has gone up into the ethereal blue in an airplane and has flung across the sky the smoke of 'We can conquer unemployment.' "

Obviously there is nothing constructive -and little that is even destructive -in these neat but lifeless words. In London members of the august Carlton Club (100% Conservative) have grown so alarmed at the Prime Minister's lack of leadership that, stimulated by Baron Younger, they were making up last week a private electioneering fund of -L-100,000 ($500,000) which the club will spend, quite on its own, for posters.

Other Issues. Apart from "Unemployment" the major issues concern: 1) "Foreign Policy" (Laborites and Liberals charging that the Conservatives have committed the supreme folly of antagonizing the U.S., especially about Naval Limitation) ; 2) "Economy" (the Conservatives being unable to show that they have kept their 1924 campaign promise to reduce administrative expenditures by -L-10,000,000); 3) "Tariffs or Safeguarding" (Laborites being out-and-out free traders, with Conservatives muddled, hedging and split on the degree of protection they favor); 4) "Farmers' Grievances" (a most confused issue, as in the U.S. But last week the traditional maxim that the British farmer will always vote Conservative was badly shaken by certain technical by-election results which seemed to indicate that even they are growing tired of "muddling through" with Stanley Baldwin.

Who Next Prime Minister? A straight victory for Labor would mean James Ramsay MacDonald as Prime Minister, unless his seriously impaired health should force to the fore James Henry Thomas, famed "Balance Wheel of British Labor," potent trade unionist. In the event of a Conservative victory, the "mud dling through" tactics of Stanley Baldwin would almost certainly be hailed as a stroke of genius, and he would stay on at No. 10 Downing Street.

Last week for the first time in half a decade people talked breathlessly of the chance that David Lloyd George may "come back." Certainly the odds show that he may quite reasonably expect to hold a balance of power between Laborites and Conservatives. None knows how to exploit such a situation better than the little Welsh attorney; the only major politician who has had stamina enough really to survive the war. Last week his energy and fire easily surpassed that of any rival; and both Laborites and Conservatives were in deadly fear lest the man who won in 1918 by promising to "Hang the Kaiser!" should hornswoggle the country, outsmart everyone in post-election bar gaining, and by hook or crook achieve the Prime Ministry once more.

Power of Wales. Could the popularity and prestige of Edward of Wales be thrown on the side of any one party it would certainly tip the scale. H. R. H. gave politicians a lot to think about by his trip to the coal fields and later by declaring at a banquet attended by foremost British industrialists that unless they improve their sales methods the Empire's trade will suffer (TIME, March 4). Should he openly attempt, however, to champion any party he would be doing violence to that most cherished of British fetishes -the idea that the Throne is above politics. Thus any move by Edward of Wales to use his power, which if he seemed to use it would be power no longer, must be accomplished with most subtle guile.