Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-01-31
THE BRITISH ELECTIONS.
Hopes and Fears of Liberals and Con
scrvatives-Presp"cI OF Pntties-Vh,
IalioI aud the Suffrage.
rug ISSUES prForE THE COUNTRY.


cpally on questions Of finance questions con
cernng which all classes have the deepest in
tere3t Mr.. Gladstone promises q reduction OF
taxation, and shows "A healthy excheQuer, but
hi administration, d,i, ing the last five years,
has proposed many unpopular measures, which
had 10 he abandoned; and it also committed
some serious olltnse5 The pTCposilon to tax
ucifer matches caused great diseonteni; the
matter Of changing the distribution Of local tax
es called forth the opposition of the middle olas
se': the attempt to regulate the liquor traffic,
always n delicate satjeci in England. turned
the organization OF licensed victuallers in many
places against the liberals; there were some ir-
regulatities i'll reference 10 postal and tele-
graph affair, ard in the Zanzibar mail con-
tract.
The king classes like the Irish Home
Rulers. will have their candidates who will not
attach themselves, if elected, to whig or tory.
The enlargement OF the franchise in 1865, while
it certainly increased the intluerce and political
power or the king classes. was unsatisfactory
| IN that it dad not go far enough. They attemp |
| ted in 1868 to put some Of their own men in /
Parliament but though they made strong appeals |
TO the ssnsa Of fairness and Justice of the liberal
| party, the workingmeB were always thwarted |
| because the leaders, with few exceptions pre- |
ferrei to reiain in the hands Of the aristocracy
| and middle classes all places CT power, honor
and emolumen,, and really cared little for the
| working elias le9 except M means OF their own
| advancement. These sons of toll will be heard
Of during the next isw weeks, aud their success
at the polls " i'll be practically defeat Of both
| the great parties
| LIBERAL AND CONSERVATIVE STRENGTH.
Looking back at the general election of 1868
it will be seen that the result falsited the eX-
pectation5 of all parties In the English bor-
0ughS with few exceptions, there were large
| Liberal gains. In the counties alike in those
where the manufacturing and those where
tie agricultural interests predominated, the
conservatives obtained many signal triumphs.
In Scotland the conservative candidate suffer
, ed extensive reverses in the borOughs they
could do nothing, and even in the Scottish
counties where they had been uniformly sue
cessful, and where they had the influence of
the wealthy land owners i'll their favor, stran-
gers came forward in the liberal interests, ana
= were victorious over member of influential
resident families who We're candidates on the
unpopular side.
q / Even Mr.. Gladstone, who contested South
- Lancashire, was beaten in consequence of
. the weighty influence brought.against him in
which Protestant clergymen largely figured:
!, The latter stood ZIP for the sacred cause of
J., 1.-THE Irish Church Establishment, which was
for centuries the greatest scandal, as IL Gov
o Ierument machine, in Europe, and which Mr.
/ Gladstone had denounced as a relic of ancient
:; wrong and tyranny. 1t was fortunate, how
: ever, for The liberal leader, that the oontin-
n vided for by his friends. His return for the
S borough of Greenwich had been previously
IS secured, SO his election to the house of Com
=; mons was made certain. An Iish home ruler
/ is now to contest his seat with him in North
Lancashire, always regarded as the strong
st hold of liberalism, the Marquis of Harting-
j, ton, liberal, was defeated by son of LoIC
;, Derby
y TIE LAw-MAKING POWER.
v The law-making power of the United King
H., ,,fN Ia
as spiritual or temporal, and the knights, cti
L. 1enS, and bureesSes5 in Parliament assembled
The House OF Lords namber jl5 members ,anC
y is made up of archbshops, "A bishops, 2
w. ~ dukes, l13 earls, 2ll barons, % Irish represen
y tative peers and 10 Scotch representative peers
- Irish Protestant bishops are. excluded iron
81 the House of Lords since the passage of tn
u. Church Dis-estabshment bill The numbe
US OF members of the House of Common has bee
=, since 1917, GJS, and has varied very little dur
90 ing the present century. England and Wales
81 800 representatives-15l 81 knights of the shire
- and sal citizens and burgeSSesS, ireland, 10
ag members-64 knights of the shire and Al cit
- zens and burgessess Scotland, % member:
nat about equally divided between knights an
~ citizens In the three kingdoms 256 gentlt
he men represent counties and 3e6 boroughs. Th
or universities have 3 members.
Ir. THE BALLOT
The ballot under which the general election
"a hoiI for the first time in the United Kingdom
''i Us inliiulttd. 4 clumsy ContriYnnce, and il
somewhat surprising that with the experience
W ceutury OF iis working in The niteu State,
utS better measure was not perfected. However, it
ei' 4 very great step In advance, and, with the G
~ tended iodgrr aud property qualifications OF V
" tiers, affords far better opportunity than ey
en before of getting at the volee OF the the peopl
Isl The bill debated IN 1877 at great length,
=. finally passed the House OF Commons by IN
, IL loIity OF tilty.eight. lts duration is limited
40 1880 the probability being that many lmporta
rS necessary amendments will become apparent
that time. The law enacts that the ballot pap
III must show the names of tho candidate or cane
~. dates for election, with n number printed OH
e' tback with counterfoil attached having the sau
number and that at the time OF voting the bal
paper shall be marked on both sides with an OF
Ie. ciai mark and delivered to the voter within {
polling place. and tho number oi such votes
on the register of votes shall
us BE MARKED ON THE CoUNTERFoI,
~ and the voter, having secretly marked his Vote
re- the paper and folded it up so rs to conceal
ch- vote shall place it in a closed hoY in presence
ast the officers presiding at the polling station, af
ee' having shown u hlm the official mark at I
no back This complicated system OF voting W
-, ~ no doubt, he simphhed by the pszt farhamel
INT the present. occasion atlording good opportu
ty of Judging OF it's merits. AS 1t Is now 1t mi
ero lead to delay confusion, and TO voters sutferi
as' Injustice in numerous instances. All that can
SAID in its favor that it Is long step toward
Oh establishment of sifc and expeditions system.
vote 10y ballot.