Jan. 26.
Tue versatile Premier of Great Britain is not going to be ousted from the Liberal Party by its Asquithian section, and if the mountain will not go to Mahomet then Mahomet is going to the mountain. The days of the Coalition are numbered.
It is still to bei prolonged for the obvious reason that the exigencies of the pub-lie weal hardly warrant its dissolution. If the Westminster Parliament had but to deal with domestic problems, then the continued existence of the present Coalition would not be justified, but with the condition of Europe as it is, a reversion to the pre-war lines of Government by the one particular Party is, not exactly desirable, for the reason that there is no outstanding section with a leader of influence that could command a majority in the country. The present Premier is the one statesman in whom the nation as a whole has confidence, and because be depends for his support upon the aid of the Conservative Party and the loyalty of his followers in the Liberal Faction, the prolongation of the life of the Coalition is essential. Once [international matters are removed from the tapis, the people of Great Britain can devote their attention to the election of a Government that will replace the unpopular Coalition, but that day has hardly come yet.
Meanwhile, the Premier's immediate adherents"in the former Liberal Parties have taken the first steps to ensure that when the dissolution of the Coalition occurs their leader will not be left without a nucleus of followers who will be ready to champion his cause and programme. Frequent feelers have been put out during the last few years to find whether it would be feasible to found a new political party in Great Britain. The rise and growth of Labour's political influence have made progressive men in the Li-boral and Conservative Parties ready to ponder the question as to whether an amalgamation of the two sections for the purpose of opposing the new force would not be the wisest policy, but the attempts have not fructified. The Conservatives, the vast majority of them, are apprehensive of handing their organization over to the present Premier unless they can first extract from him a:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.