On Tuesday, Mr. Keir Hardie defended the independence of the
Independent Labour Party in a distinctly opportunist speech in which he pleaded for comprehension and tolerance. The party was not what it would like to he, but what it must be. He claimed Mr. Ramsay Macdonald as the biggest intellectual asset in their movement, but he said the party must be big enough to include all types. The difficulty with the party was, and had been, that it thought too much in terms of Liberalism, and he feared the Liberals with their social reform much more than he did the Tories. On the great question of the Veto they supported the Government in abolishing the Veto of the Lords, but not in proposing to amend that House, and they had given notice of resolutions cancelling the Preamble. Ultimately both resolution and an amendment on somewhat similar lines were conveniently dis- posed of by the previous question being moved.
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