MR. T. P. O'CONNOR ON THE LORDS.
[TO TES EDITOR OF TEN "SPECTA-TOR..1
Sur,—In a speech delivered by Mr. T. P. O'Connor in Chicago on November 3rd (to which I listened) he besmirched the reputation of the House of Lords in such a manner that any one who listened to it could form no other conclusion than that British "noblemen" are the most depraved human beings in the world. "If you believe in the efficacy of prayer, pray that the House of Lords throw out the Budget," said Mr. O'Connor to his audience. "If they reject the Budget, their doom is sealed." In view of the fact that Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M.P., the day previously said—in the course of an interview with a reporter of the Tribune—that the Budget is "revolutionary," I think that the House of Lords would be shirking its duty if it had to pass the Budget, instead of rejecting it, and beseeching the British public, not to pray, but
to decide by means of the Referendum or a General Election whether there must be introduced a revolution in methods of British taxation. For I think no Legislature, even in the most democratic, plutocratic, or autocratic countries, has the right or the power to create a revolution without the will and consent of the people. When Mr. O'Connor said that the Budget is revolutionary, he unconsciously endorsed Lord Rosebery's Budget speech, and consequently did irreparable damage to the prestige of his friend Mr. Lloyd George, who
called Lord Rosebery's Budget speech "a soft-nosed torpedo." For the information of the Liberal Party, I quote Mr. O'Connor's exact words :—
"The two great parties are at outs.' They are hopelessly at variance over the Free-trade question, and just now at sword's- point over the Budget. This Budget affects in .revolutionary manner the methods of taxation in this country. It is therefore of vital importance to the people. In connexion with its passage or rejection each party is striving to rob the other of whatever social and political prestige it possesses." - (Transvaal Boer).
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
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