New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-11-28
THE BRITISH MINISTRY.

LONDON, Nov. ia gOOn dfaf OF i'i.'poih'hNhs
IS expressed ut the failure Of Mr. Gladstone 70
announce policy at the Lord Mayors dinner his
is the time ar MI. Bright told at Birmingham.
when Cabinet secrets made up. There had been
Cabinet meetings. The Ministers had sll cot back
to town. The country was waiting, The Lord
MAYORS dinner IL the tine-hon0rci occasion for
uttering some sort Of a war-crv, M for giving. at
least, some hint to those distracted souls who have
been living for two or three months in o ParlI-
meutary purgatory. Nobody is moro to be
pited, certainly than member who has TO
meet an exactng and lnqnisiuye cOnstit-
Money. without knowing what ne mas to say.
The qrcater paTt of the members of the House Of
Commons are used 10 having their minds made up
for them. J1jtnbw the number Il quo7iioas IN
which they are expected 70 give answer Of soins
kind IS rather large. The County Franchise the
Income Tax, Local Taxation, Ireland in some shape
or other, the 18th clause Of tie EsHcAtiOn
Act-these, and not few others, are matters on
which the Government must tase one line 81 an
other in the coming session. aad, what IS stiii more
to the point, in the coming general election.
WHY will they not say what iinef IL IS cruel 10
leave their supporters 80 long IN the dark. IL IL
awkward foF member Of -hc House % admit that
he has no opinion. or thl5 he is waiting for the
Cabinet to decide what bis opinion shall be.
He may be a small man in the H3a3e blt hc IS
rreat man among his constituents. The. consult liim
as an oracle Yet they III cOnteuJ with Oiacuiar
answers.
= II was in Mr. Gla1stoues power perhaps. - put
oil these worthy people out Of their misery There
were other and stronger motives for doing &C. Tho
Conservative Reaction has been followed by Lib
era Reaction. Unexpectedly to then elves, / be-
lisve Ministers find the allegiance Of the party re-
turning to them, and the support Of the neutral
classes ready once moro 10 be given to the Liberal
party They know that the condition OF prohung
BY this sudden Reaction is Action. Conservative
party can afford TO do nothing-the object Of its OK
istence IS that nothing shall be done. But Liberal
party must have a programme H.. 81
its own, and vlgor enough TO act Oh t. Ii
was the belief that Nlr. Gladstoue'5 Ministry had
lost courage and purpose which brought discrelit
upon it, and caused everybody to forecast It's near
fall. II was an unexpected display of spirit of
energy in lighting succession Of desperate battles.
and the return TO it of u man whose name was sy-
nonymous with courage aud conviction that restored
10 it something of its Old popularity But some time
has since passed and people are waiting with I'M
patience to know what after all it9 new programme
is to be, and whether the present leaders Of tho
party are willing still 10 lead it, and whittier If.
therefore, they have made mp their minds on the
questions above enumerated or on any one Of them.
II was think mistake not to say So The rci,er-
upon the Conservatives has been that the latter bad
no policy Il would be the greatest Of blund3Ts to
permit the same thing 10 DO said Of themselves.
Mr. Gladstone with his usual lacl; Of quick percep.
ton Of popular feeling treats it all as matter Of
Parliamentary strategy, and jauutily promises to
deal with controversies in another arena. He dc.
cara5 himself content to abide by the judgment OF
Parliament. lie is conscious. he says, Of the respon-
sibility of Parliament to the country and MS lnnei
idea seems to be that he is 70 persuade Parliament
and Parliament, ia turn, 10 persuade the country
to support br Gladstone The process is in fact pre-
cisely the reverse IL is public opinion which acts
on Parliament. aud Parliament which conveys It III
a more or less refracted state TO the mind OF Mr.
Gladstone. He would be 4 greater Minister could
he but gather it direct II nc understood his
countrymen. thought with them, and felt with them.
as M Bright does, even as Lord PalmerstOn did
with certain classes Of them, there would De almost
no limit to Ar. GladstoRe's power He has me adj
vantage now Of Mr. Brights counsel. but hs under
goes now rs before, the subtle influence of men who
represent q totally different order Of ideas. This
qualities of mind which make him dull in det1cting
great popular movements make him curiOJsly SEN
sitiye to those social and hereditary influences
which stil! WELD so enormous pO1 q in England.
They are overbOme in tie long run and in great
matters III tie daily conduct Of affair, they
felt almost as much ever, and 3lr. Gladstone is
not likely to emancipate himself from them IN a
hurry.
Nor may add, from those traditions which GER
tain bodies of men hand down from generation TO
generation for their own benefit. Lool, nc the re-
cent legal changes. Vics-Chancollor Wicke1s died
a fortnight ago, and Mr.. Charles Hal succeed him.
Whys Because Sir Richard Blgi..Ay is a Colserya-
tive. Mr.. Hail is baTTister OF good a-.alAmeats
and position, but it is the misfortune, both vi the
Chancery and Common Law Bars that a grodt ma
jOrity of both, including majority OF tae aOleSt
men of both ConserN atlycs. But poll tie Chan-
Gerry Bar Unexpectedly OF politics. and Sr Richard
Bagaay would. presume, carry of most voices for
the first place. Certainly Mr.. Hal woId not.
This however may be said to be rule Of politics
in other countries than England, Even In Amerca.
the politics of candidate for the Bench some
times considered so let Us t'-e a case of different
kind Not long after the Vice-C Chancellor. the Lord
Chief Justice of the Court Of Common Pleas died
also His successor is to be Sr john CJlcudgo, the
present Attorney General. Why Because ia, Bar.
or any other body. regard Sir john C0erid-e tue
fittest man for the olaceY Nothing OF tho kind.
Because he happens TO be Attorney -Geuvral nc The
time of Sir VIM. BoyilPs death, and the Attorney
General for the time being has a recognized pre-
scriptve right to the first Chief-JuSticeship
that falls vacant. That il mixing up politics
and law in a way which is to the credit and profit OF
neither The Attorney General mu1t be u lawyer il
is true, but he must also be member Of tho House
of Commons; that is, he must be politician. In
fact he is usually very keen one and strong par
tsan as in the present Tie result Is that the
only road to the chief places the bench j. through
the sometimes rather muddy waters Of politics
barrlster must get into the House II he hopes Tor the
highest prize in his profession, and il is seldom
Al. Ia OF