{"id":1069,"date":"2013-07-13T01:32:22","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=1069"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:32:22","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:32:22","slug":"73-the-elections-vol-02-karmayogin-volume-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/02-karmayogin-volume-02\/73-the-elections-vol-02-karmayogin-volume-02","title":{"rendered":"-73_The Elections.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n
\n

The Elections<\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\nT<\/font>HE
\n<\/span><\/b>great election is over, the first in England which has been fought on
\nconstitutional issues since the passing of the Reform Bill in the earlier part
\nof the nineteenth century. The forces of reaction have put forth their utmost
\nstrength and, in the result, have only succeeded in just equalising their own
\nnumbers with those of the official Liberal Party. This partial success will be
\nmore fatal to the cause of reaction than a defeat. For, in the coming
\nParliament, the Liberal Ministry will be dependent for their very existence on
\nthe forty Labour votes that represent the frankly socialistic element in
\nEnglish progressive opinion. Such a state of things has never before existed
\nin English politics and a few years ago it would have been thought impossible.
\nPractically, Socialist opinion will rule England so long as the Asquith Ministry lasts and, if the Socialists are
\nwisely guided and refrain from abusing their opportunity, they will be able to
\ntake such steps in the modification of British politics as will ensure the
\ntriumph of Socialism in England at no distant date. Not only will the
\nGovernment depend for its very existence on the Labour vote, but it will depend
\nfor its safety on Irish support. If, therefore, the Irish also are wisely
\nguided and do not press the favourable situation too far, the long delayed
\nconcession of Home Rule is a certainty within the next two years. Necessarily,
\nthe success of the Irish and the Socialists can bear no fruit unless the veto
\nof the House of Lords is annulled or a new elective Upper Chamber takes the
\nplace of the present absurd and antiquated institution. We have not therefore
\nerred in forecasting a democratic revolution in England as the inevitable
\nresult of the action of the House of Lords in rejecting the Budget, or, as they
\neuphemistically put it, referring it to the country. Mr. Balfour has recognised that the verdict of the
\nUnited Kingdom has been given in favour of the Budget and against Tariff Reform. The real issue is now, what it should
\nhave been throughout, the reform, abolition or replacement of the House of
\nLords.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 393<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

When the elections were in progress, Mr. Asquith committed himself on the question of Home
\nRule, and, even if he wished to draw back from it, in face of his dependence on
\nLabour and Irish votes he can no longer retreat. All that has been done is to
\nqualify his promise of a final solution of the Irish question by stipulating
\nthat it shall contain provision for the supremacy of the Imperial Parliament as
\nwell as local autonomy of a liberal character for the Irish nation. This means
\nnot only the restriction of all Imperial questions to the province of the
\nParliament meeting in London, but the decision of questions between Ireland
\nand England by the same body and possibly a power of veto in certain matters
\nfor the British Cabinet. It is impossible for an English statesman to go
\nfarther in the direction of Irish autonomy, and the Irish Party will be well
\nadvised to accept even this qualified autonomy and make it an instrument for so
\ndeveloping the strength of the Irish nation as to make further concession in
\nthe future inevitable. The lifework of Parnell has not gone in vain; the two great questions he brought to a head by
\nhis masterly policy, the liberation of the Irish peasant from rack-renting
\nlandlords and the liberation of the Irish race from an unsympathetic
\ndomination, are both in process of solution within a quarter of a century of
\nhis untimely end. Liberty is a goddess who is exacting in her demands on her
\nvotaries, but, if they are faithful, she never disappoints them of their
\nrewards.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For India, the elections are as favourable
\nas an English election can be. We do not regard the defeat of pro-Indian
\nLiberal candidates as a calamity. There is always a limit to the efforts of the
\nmembers of Parliament, however sincere, who are bound by ties of party loyalty
\nand discipline not to embarrass their official chiefs beyond a certain point.
\nThe Labour members and the Nationalists are bound by no such scruples and both
\nof these parties have sympathy with India. The one problem before us is how to
\nturn that sentiment of sympathy into an effective impetus towards action; for in European politics sentiment is not a
\nsufficiently strong motive unless it is supported by some practical community
\nof interests. The Irish Parliamentary Party were able to bring Home Rule into
\nthe category of realisable ideals because they made it to the interest of the
\nBritish Parties to get rid of the<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 394<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Irish difficulty; if that ideal is realised
\nnow, it will be because the interests of the English Liberals and the Irish
\nNationalists have become one and, therefore, they must accommodate each other.
\nIt is forces that effect great political changes, not moral sentiments or
\nvague generosities. Even a great idea can only become operative when it is
\nmanifested as a working force with a definite aim and a distinct pressure on
\nits environments.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 395\t<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Elections   THE great election is over, the first in England which has been fought on constitutional issues since the passing of the Reform…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-02-karmayogin-volume-02","wpcat-23-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}