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I I NOTES OF THE DAY

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I NOTES OF THE DAY f from our London Correspondent. t [THE PRIME MINISTER. I m R. LLOYD GEORGE has aged much in the past 8 months. His hair is Hot only grey, almost white, but is be- rme thin and scanty. The face is deeply inrrowed, the eyes have lost their old I fire, there is a distinct loss of elasticity in his stride and movements. He does not look ill, but he is very careworn. I I do not think there is anything organical- ly wrong with him. Almost suddenly, however, he has become an old man. The terrible strain and ten-sion of the past two years made heavy draughts on his nervous energy and physical strength. It was a tired and weary man that ad- dressed the House of Commons last Mon- I day. He sorely needs a long rest. He j recuperates quickly and the vacation in Normandy will doubtless improve his spirits and bring the colour back to his face. What it will not do is to bring back the lost years. The war which found Lloyd George a young man- amazingly young in energy and feeling for his years-has left him an old man. THE BURDEN OF OFFICE. I IT never heard the Prime Minister to loss advantage than this week. For the first time in his Parliamentary career he fatigued the House of Commons. As a physical effort his 3 hours' speech was considerable, but intellectually and morally it was on a low plane. Hope, faith, inspiration were absent from it. It would be a good thing for Lloyd George and not a bad thing for the country if he were to disencumber himself from the burden of office. He has been a Minister of the Crown, without a break since December, 1905. These 14 years have been for him a time of almost un- ceasing strain. POSITION OF THE GOVERNMENT. I IN the 9 years before the war it hap- pened that the tasks of our peace statesmanship were grievously heavy, and it was Lloyd George who bore the most onerous share of them. During the war, too, the heaviest burden fell on his shoulders. Ably did he sustain it. His wonderful work in the war years has earned for him the gratitude of the country. He might now well rest on his i victorious laurels. A year of repose would refresh him in body and in mind and give him time to think and reflect. But temporary retirement is the last thing that is desired by men accustomed to power. They cannot bear the thought of quitting the great stage of public life. and relinquishing the direction of affairs to other hands. There is an avarice of power as there is of wealth. I do not be- lieve that Mr. Lloyd George has any in- tention of surrendering the Premiership. He will cling to it tenaciously; but I anake this prediction that as time goes on both he and his Government will rapidly decline in prestige and popularity. Al- ready the Government is thoroughly dis- -credited. FEEBLE WELSH MEMBERS. I IN the evjcws of the Parliamentary I ISession the experts agree that this House of Commons is Very barren of new talent; that the Labour Party has failed lamentably; and that Lord Robert Cecil has acquired a position of pre-eminent authority. They also all agree in ignoring the Welsh Parliamentary Party. There are some obscure creatures in nature too contemptible for notice. So there are in politics. Never has Wales been so feebly represented in the House of Commons as to-day. The Welsh people are naturally gifted, rich in energy and imagination, democratic to the core. No one would deduce this from the character of Welsh representation in Westminster. With the exception of LlO\ d George there is not a Inin of distinction in the Welsh party. Brace and Hartshorn are a credit to Welsh Labour. Where are the M.P.'s who shecl a glory on Welsh Liberalism ? "Half of them want jobs; the other half want titles"—that is how Mr MacVeagh, a witty Nationalist M.P., summed them up a few weeks ago. It was a cruel jibe. Who will say that it was not justified ? When will the real Wales be articulate in Westminster ?

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