See IRELAND.
The outbreak of the European War took the British public and politicians wholly by sur prise. Entirely absorbed in their internal and internecine — affairs and party quarrels, they had failed to observe the war clouds gathering on the horizon. Only a few days be tore the storm broke the king had told the warring factions summoned to Buckingham Palace that the "cry of civil war)" was "on the lips of the most responsible and sober minded of my people." No sooner, however, than the European situation assumed a serious aspect, the Unionist opposition displayed a magnanimous sentiment of patriotism by de claring their whole-hearted support of the gov ernment in the face of possible perils from without, an attitude entirely contrary to that adopted by the Liberals over the South African war in 1899, when the Unionists were in power.
Party strife and criticism disappeared as by magic in August 1914; the Premier's motions for a vote of credit for £100,000,000 for war purposes and for the immediate addition of 500,000 men to the army were carried in the House of Commons on 6 Aug. 1914 without a dissentient voice. With equal promptness and unanimity both Houses of Parliament passed through all their stages a series of einergen acts of Parliament, the most important of which was the Defence of the Realm Act. The life of a Parliament having been reduced from seven years to five years by the Act of 1911, a general election was consequently due in 1915, but was postponed owing to the war. As a substitute a Coalition Mimstry was formed in May 1915 and nine Unionists were admitted to the Cabinet of 22. The number was raised to 10 in August 1916 by the appointment of a Union ist (Mr. H. E. Duke) as Secretary of State for Ireland in succession to Mr. Birrell, a Liberal. The Coalition Ministry collapsed unexpectedly on 6 Dec. 1916. Mr. Asquith resigned and was
succeeded by Mr. Lloyd George, who formed a special cabinet of five members for a more vigorous prosecution of the war. The Cabinet was composed of two Liberals and three Con servatives (Unionists). In November 1917 the War Cabinet was reconstituted by the addition of two members, one being the Boer general, Jan C. Smuts, of South Africa.
It may not be out of place here to draw a comparison between the two historic political parties of Great Britain. The Liberals or "Whigs," as they were formerly called, have always been strong on domestic affairs and social legislation. While they were generally weak in the management of foreign affairs, they possessed a remarkable faculty for setting the people by the ears and promoting class antagonism by raising inflammable issues. Measures such as church disestablishment, edu cation bills, licensing, socialistic taxation, etc., generally formed the main planks in their plat form. Idealistic and frequently impractical, they were opposed, on principle, to the main tenance of "bloated armaments" and sought by all means to keep expenditure on the navy and army as low as possible. The Conservatives or "Tories," on the other hand, invariably pur sued a strong— if sometimes mistaken—foreign policy and believed in the efficiency of an over whelmingly strong navy. In legislation they generally left the people, as well as established systems, customs and laws as much as pos sible alone. Since about 1908 there has grown up among the British people an increasing dis content with regard to the party system. Many public men and journals have condemned it as a "farce," a "make-believe" and a "hollow sham," and a general opinion was entertained that the end of the European War would un doubtedly herald some revolutionary changes in British politics.