The British Government crisis came to an end to-day, with the resignation of the Labour Cabinet, and the formation of a National Government, with Mr. Ramsay MacDonald as Prime Minister. The new Administration will contain representatives of the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Parties, and will include Mr. Baldwin, the Conservative ex-Premier, and Sir Herbert Samuel, who has been acting as Liberal leader, since Mr. Lloyd George is not yet sufficiently recovered from his illness to leave his room.
An official announcement was issued from Buckingham Palace to-day, stating that “His Majesty the King invited the Prime Minister, Mr. Stanley Baldwin and Sir Herbert Samuel to Buckingham Palace this morning, and the formation of a National Government is under consideration”. The official announcement followed a visit to the Palace by Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Baldwin and Sir Herbert Samuel, which lasted over two hours. Mr. Lloyd George will be unable to take part in the new Government, it is stated, because of his illness, and Sir Herbert Samuel will be the leading Liberal representative. It is expected that the new Government will be in the nature of an emergency Administration, and will resign after it has put its emergency plans into execution, and a general election is anticipated in October.
Sir Herbert Samuel has in the Government crisis played as important a part as he did in the settlement of the great general strike of 1926. Lord Reading, too, has been active in the negotiations. Together with Sir Herbert Samuel he visited Mr. Lloyd George at his London home and the two detailed to him the latest developments. Lord Reading was also in the chair at the meeting of the Liberal Advisory Committee which was held to consider the situation, and after hearing the report presented by Sir Herbert Samuel and Sir Donald MacLean, unanimously endorsed the course taken by them at the three-party conferences during the past week.
CHANGE OF BRITISH REPRESENTATION AT FORTHCOMING LEAGUE OF NATIONS MEETING
The change of Government occurring on the eve of the meetings of the League of Nations Council and Assembly, which open in Geneva next Monday week, September 7th., is of international importance, since it implies changes in the British representation. Mr. Arthur Henderson is resigning the Foreign Secretaryship, and will not, therefore, attend the session of the League of Nations Council, which will among other matters have to deal with the report of the League’s Mandates Commission, including its observations on Palestine.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
