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IWALES AND THE GOVERNMENT

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

WALES AND THE GOVERNMENT SIR J. HERBERT ROBERTS, M.P., made a speech of very considerable significance, at the Colwyn Bay Liberal Club, on Friday night. It is not our desire to read into the utterances of leading public men any mean- ing which is not intended by the speakers themselves but, at the same time, we feel that we are justified in placing a certain in- terpretation upon the speech in question. Sir Herbert, after dwelling upon the magnifi- cence of the Liberal victory, the determina- tion of the Government to abolish the abso- lute Veto of the House of Lords, and the re- forms which will be made possible by the clearing away of that obstacle from the path of progress, pointed out that this wonderful triumph, at the polls means much more to Welsh Liberalism than to English Liberal- ism. It has become a truism that in some respects Wales is far in advance of Eng- land, notably in regard to such matters as temperance reform, educational reform, land reform, and religious equality. Wales contributed nobly to the majority given by the United Kingdom to Mr Glad- stone in 1868, and that at the cost of groat hardships to individuals and commu- nities, and at every subsequent general election the Principality has been staunch in its adherence to the same political faith and unswerving in its loyalty to the Liberal I arty. From time to time, the representa- tives of Wales in Parliament, have shown impatience at the delay in taking up purely Welsh matters, but they have had to admit that there was next to no hope of ac- complishing anything really satisfactory unless and until the relation, of the two Houses could be placed on a just and proper basis. Despite so many rebuffs and disap- pointments, the majority of the Welsh people have, at each opportunity, exhibited the same trust in the Liberal leaders' good faith, and in 1906 they revealed that confidence in the most marked manner possible—by returning only Liberal members. In January, and also in December, there has been a slight falling away from that standard, but when the causes of this are explained, it is easy to see that the vast majority of our people are still true as steel to the causes and ideals for which they have made such prolonged and such heroic sacrifices. After forty years of weary waiting and repeated diss appointments their belief in the sympathy of the great Lib- eral Party remains unabated. Hut while they readily admit that in the past the supremacy of the House of Lords has imposed an insurmountable barrier to the fulfilment of their national desires, they feel that the time has now arrived when they can reasonably expect a comparatively speedy realisation of their long-deferred hopes. They did their fair share, if not quite as much as they would have liked, towards securing for Mr Asquith this third victory of a remarkable series. Not only so, but Wales has a o £ .bAE Mr as much, as anv x the party leaders towards the attainment of the present decisive majoriy T C- >, bert's eloquent words, •< CW ♦ makes this election m point which ^W54 a nd ZRABLE IS ,1K el«,i„„P B»i0. in greatest Welshman of the Gf°rge> *he and personality «s 'h 'P'1" unon "1'e mam foundation S, reS"hs of W ed' AftCT toy years of allegiance to the Liberal par[v A aIes to expect when her hereditary (Continued on page 7.)