New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-09-20
BRITISH TOPICS.
NOTES FROM LONDON.

flbll W hhhhNh'
GFRoM THE REGULARlCoRREsPosDEST or THE TRiBUNk'I
LONDON, Sept. 5-Mr loves apologize at Sheffield
is, like all his speeches. what Mr.. Greeley used TO
call mighty interestin' reading" tits amusing. OF
course and merely asian photographed fragment,
full of entertainment IL is also very VIGOROUS
defense of himself and the Government OF which ne
still forms part, against the attacks they nave
lately had 10 endure II is in such speeches az these
that one gets now and then peep into ministerial
mysteries for the most part closely vailed from the
public view. If we are to trust Mr.. loves account
the present Ministry may fairly claim to be the most
remarkable in the history of England. They met,
ne saws. when they first took Office, and then and
there mapped ont the whole programme
they have since accomplished. 1t was no
piecemeal process Mr. Gladstone and his
colleagues resolved five years ago on the Irish Land
bill, the Disestablshment Of the Irish Church, and
the reform of Irish University Education ON the
English Education act Of 1870; on the Ballot; on
remodeling the Army and ab0lishlng Purchase on
revoutionzing the legal system, Welding Equity
and Law into one, and reconstructing the JUDI
cature on Civil Service Reform, and the establish
ment of the competitive system in place OF patron
age and on a rigorous retrenchment of expendi-
ture THAT declares Mr.. Lowe in 50 many words.
"was the programme we made up our minds to start
Will, anu nc Is pcIltClfJ aware VI eAiN N''A'''''T
nature of such revelation, for he himself describes
il as audaciOus and the most extrayagant that any
set of midde-aged and elderly gentlemen had ever
arrived at Who, he asks, could sit down and draw
such plan in cold blood and ever expect to realize
one quarter of iti Yet the strangest thing is that
except the Irish University bill, "one OF the least
important parts of the whole system" the whole
programme has been executed.
Never vet have the Ministerial achievements been
put before the world in this dramatic way. should
say that the half column in which Mr.. Lowe has
painted his picture would be impressive to En-
glishmen in general than the most elaborate defense
of the Ministry ever penned spoken The speech
was made only yesterday, and It's effect has yet to
be produced.
When we come TO the personal part of the speech,
that which relates TO Mr.. Lowe himself, we may be
not less asOnished at the of his defense III
differs from Mr. loves usual defenses, in not carry
ing the war wholly into Africa. 1t is real defense
During the last two or three months" says Mr..
Lowe A." have been subject to about as much writ
ten and spoken abuse ever fell to the lot OF any
human being"-which is quite true. Just what he
means by saying that from circumstances he need
not mention he has had no opportunity of making
any sort of explanation appearance for himself,
do not understand; but no matter Better late than
that the Treasury privileged to make itself dis
agreeable as possible to any department anxious to
make lavish expenditure. Everybody Will admit
Mr. loves success in carrying out that theory
He had another respecting himself He
took stock of himself, and came to the con-
cluson that he had such great genius
as Sir Robert Peel or Mr. Gladstone had for finance.
But he bad read in a Latin grammar that economy
was great revenue, and he determined to act on
that maxim; TO limit expenditure and check ex-
travagance. He explains at length the system on
which he acted and the results of it, Such business
had before been left to inferior offical Mr. Lowe
took it into his own hands. The first thing be did
on entering office was to issue order that no new
expenditure whatever would be allowed without his
own sanction. lt was revolution Ii brought
upon him every species of annoyance and grievance
and he recommends no man who values peace and
comfort to follow his example. He says it turned
the Press against him, and his three great enemies
were the Press, the Deputations and the House OF
Commons. The hostility of the Press he leaves I'M
explained. Of the Deputations he says their OBJ
ects were generally good but not objects for which
public money ought to be expended Of the House
of Commons he says this;
IL has become completely divided into two classes
the spendthrfs and the economists You might natu,
rally suppose that the Chancellor OF the EXchequer had
nothing DO Dut 10 play OH one
somehow il is never done When the spendthrlfts are
there economists not, and when the economists
are the spendthTtts are not They are never race
20 face and when gentlemen 90 in for rad upon the
EXchequer the economists, somehow, are not 10 De
sons VINO had lust before been asking
silent In fact every body Is ia favor OF economy IN
the abstract and most people are IN FAVOR OF eAulFa-
gance in concrete.
As the result of his efforts. Mr. Lowe brings for
ward some most surprising figures. Putting aside
that part of the public expenditure for which the
Chancellor of the Exchequer is not responsible, he
draws comparison between the outgOes before he
took Office and those while he was in office. In 1862
the last year for which his predecessor response
ble the expenditure of this kind was EGl POI 900.
Since that time there has been forced upon the
Government an extra expenditure beyond its con-
troll (which he particuarzes) of f2,lSl.000. There
has come also the great pressure for increase of
salaries on account of increased cost of living and
the rise of prices from which latter there was no
escape. If that pressure had been successfully
sisted, the extra expenditure alone would have
brought the figures up to f634720O0. But the fact
is SAYS Mr. Lowe, the expenditure of the last fnan
cial year was only G6O,l5OOOO; more than million
less notwithstanding the necessary extra expendi-
ture than in 1869 4; and more than f3,OOOOO less
than it would have been had he not personally
undertaken the watching of the expenditure. Not
only that. During his Est four years he has taken OH
f12OO0OO0 in taxes, and these millions have gone
into the pockets of the people. Nor is that all
Though called upon to increase the public debt by
paying E1OO0OOOO for the telegraphs he has dimin-
ished the debt e96OOO,OOo. And in addition to that
be had TO provide e2OOO0OO in 1870 on account of the
war, and this year has paid the whole Alabama
award of E3,OOO,OOO without borrowing a sixpence
or imposing tax at all. That is the answer
exclaims Mr. Lowe, with apparently justifable
pride, which / have to give to those who have
been so liberal in crticsing." For anything like
what has been done in these last four years he
believes British history may be searched IN vain.
There are some suggestions to be made on all this,
and nlenfv of criticism will be made. no doubt.