THE EDUCATION 250 Copies £1 10s. od. Carriage £5 os. od. Extra. BILL, 1906: SUMMARY WITH FULL TEXT AND NOTES. Price 1d., Post Free, 11⁄2d. THE EDUCATION BILL, 1906: MR. BIRRELL'S SPEECH ON INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING. All 2079 The Education Bill, 1906: Elementary Schools to be under Public Management and Control ... 2080 Cowper-Temple" Teaching ... 2 Price per 1,000. ... 3s. ... ... 3s. 2082 The Education Bill, 1906: Church Opinion in its Favour THE GOVERNMENT AND ITS WORK. A SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE Rt. Hon. D. Lloyd-George, M.P. (President of the Board of Trade), THE GOVERNMENT AND ITS WORK. MR. LLOYD-GEORGE, M.P., speaking at the Annual Meetings of the National Liberal Federation at Liverpool on May 24th, 1906, said:— Mr. Chairman, ladies, and gentlemen,-By the kindness of your welcome I take note of the fact that you have already extended to me the indulgence which I stand sadly in need of to-night. If you sympathise with me half as much as I sympathise with you in your disappointment we shall get on. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. I know you came here to express your appreciation of the services of the man alluded to by the Chairman in his speech-the man who picked up the flag of progress when it was drooping; who stuck to it through a storm of abuse, misrepresentation, and obloquy, who saved it many a time from falling into the hands of the enemy, and who carried it through discouragement, defeat, disaster, depression, but never through dishonour. I come from a House of Commons where his influence is paramount, where his consistency, his ability, and his good-humoured courage have won the affection of the House in a way I have not seen since the good days of Gladstone. I have been in other Parliaments which I am certain I shall not forget soon, and which I think the country will not forget soon-in those Parliaments he used to be treated with illmannered disdain, but in the hour of victory, as in the days of defeat, he has shown how a British gentleman can behave. Our sympathy goes out to him in the trouble which has prevented his presence here to-day, and I am certain it is the fervent hope of every member of this great gathering that the brave comrade of his life, who has helped him to greatness, will soon be restored to health and to strength. Liverpool Liberal Members of Parliament. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman is at the head of the greatest majority of modern times. It is a majority to which you have contributed in this district, and you sent notable members there. There is my friend Major Seely, Mr. Cherry, and Mr. Henry Vivian, and I am glad to say, Mr. Austin Taylor. I know a Liberal when I meet him, and I know the other sort, too. The first time I met Mr. Austin Taylor and had a chat with him, I said to him : "You are on the wrong side of the House," and he replied, "Well, I am not sure that you are not right." Like a wise man he took two or three years to reflect over it. But he has come to the right decision at last. Well, now, I must not forget that brilliant Irishman, Mr. T. P. O'Connor, who is not merely a great Nationalist, but is also one of the best democrats that ever sat for any great city. So you have done something, at any rate, to help forward the cause of progress in this great city of Liverpool. You have made a beginning. A Government that Means Business. Well, you are helping, at any rate, a Government which modesty forbids me to say much about; but I will tell you this—it is a Government that means business. We have not made a bad start. We have introduced a few little bills, and we are well on the way with them. We have got the Workmen's Compensation Bill; we have the Trade Disputes Bill; and we have the Education Bill—a little uncontroversial measure which the House of Commons is considering at the present moment. Then there is the Plural Voting Bill. (At this point a woman in one of the galleries over the platform interrupted with a remark about women's suffrage, and at the same time she attempted to wave a banner. This was promptly wrested from her, and as she persisted in obstructing the meeting, she was gently, but firmly, escorted out of the building. Women's Suffrage. I frankly confess to you I had rather that lady had not been turned out. Of course, it is a great nuisance, and personally, as a friend of women's suffrage as one who voted for it, who went down to the House of Commons the other night to vote for it, and who will vote for it again, whatever silly women may do to destroy it— I think it is a mistake that they should act as they do; but they are judges of their own course. In due season let me say one word to these ladies, who are very earnest advocates of a very great cause. Let me say one word to them. I had a letter put in my hands before I came on the platform from as sincere and distinguished an advocate of women's suffrage as anyone in this hall, and I had meant to say a word about it; but really they must wait until their turn comes. By means of scenes of this character, they render it absolutely |