and
recklessly misconducted themselves.

[1] The great majority of woman suffragists refused to adopt these
violent methods.

630. A New Parliamentary Election; the Lords accept the Budget.

The rejection of the Budget by the House of Lords (S629) caused a new
Parliamentary election (1910). The Liberal Party with the Labor Party
again won the victory, but with a decidedly diminished majority.
Mr. Asquith, the Liberal Prime Minister, declared that the policy of
the Liberal Government forbade any concessions whatever to the Lords.
The Lords thought it unwise to carry the contest further, and when the
new Parliament met they bowed to the inevitable and reluctantly voted
to accept the Budget,--land taxes and all.[2]

[2] The Liberal Party in power threatened, in case the Lords continued
to refuse to accept the Budget, that they would either request the
King to create a sufficient number of Liberal Peers to carry it
(S582), or that they would make the country go through another
election.

631. New Warships; a New Domesday Book; Death of King Edward.

This acceptance of the Budget made the Government feel reasonably sure
that it would get the 16,000,000 pounds required to pay for eight new
battleships (S629). It also encouraged the War Department to spend a
considerable sum in experimenting with military airships as a means of
defense against invasion. Great Britain, like Germany, believes that
such vessels have become a necessity; for since a foreigner flew
across the Channel and landed at Dover (1909), England has felt that
her navy on the sea must be supplemented by a navy above the sea. Two
of these government airships are now frequently seen cricling at
express speed around the great dome of St. Paul's.

The Government also began preparations for the compilation of a new
Domesday Book (S120), which should revalue all the land in the British
Isles, in order to establish a permanent vasis for increased
taxation.[1] The House of Commons furthermore took up the debate on
adopting measures for limiting the power of Lords to veto bills passed
by the Commons. While they were so engaged King Edward died (May 6,
1910); his son was crowned in 1911, with the title of George V.

[1] The last general valuation of the land was made in 1692; it was
then fixed at 9,000,000 pounds. The land tax, based on this
valuation, has yielded about 2,000,000 pounds annually. The
Government expects that the new valuation will yiel