New-York tribune., 1876-01-22
BRITISH TOPICS.


SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT'S ADDRESS.
HIS PLACE IN BRITISH POLlTICs-sEvERE STRUCTURES
on THE GovrRNMEST-THE sUEz CANAL PUR-
CHASE BELTTILD-IUB NEW FUGITIVE SLAVE
CIRCULAR.
FRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF TIE TRIBUSRl
LONDON. Jan. 1.-The rafting speech which sir
William Harcourt has been making to his conStitu-
ents AT Oxford shows how much life clever man
may nfuse into the dulest topics For 1t is rue as
the speaker said at the beginning, that current poll
ties are dull Such matters rs had an interest have
mostly passed by, and the attempt TO bring them on
the stage again IN speech down in the country is
seldom success. Yet the chief complaint made
against Sir William Harcourts address is, that
it il not dull enough; that he has en-
lvened it with too many jokes IL he
cares for this sort Of criticism, lie may
well say with DR.. Holmes, that never again shall lie
dare to be funny as he can. His constituents AT
any rate, if one may judge by their laughter ana
applause, enjoyed it ALL and 30 far the speech was
success Sir William Harcourt, however, has
much larger public to look to than the good people
of Oxford who send him to Parliament He is one
of the dozen men foremost in English political life
What he saws is telegraphcd all over the kingdom
and read. He is a man of SO much personal lnde-
pendence and so much originality Of mind that
Liberal though he be- nobody can foreteli what lie
il going to say He does not run in grooves.
year ago opponents taunted him with q leaning 10
Toryism He had then lately been showing himself
indisposed to follow n leader who would not lead.
Now his attacks on the Tory Government are so
sharp that they are denounced in the Tory organ as
simply monstrous." From all which you will con-
clude that Sir William has opinions of his own, and
courage enough to state them. 1t is true at the
same time, that nobody has "A ksener instinct Tor
popular feeling, tako the measure OF the
British Phstne more accurately. Few speeches
give you good notion of the prevailing senti-
ment on the topics they touch.
If there he exception To this latter statement, IL
may be found in what Sir William IIarcourt SAYS on
the Suez Canal purchase. With that no deals more
in the spirit Of partisan than Is usual with him.
He chooses 10 treat that transaction Lord Derby
treated il in Edinburgh. 1t was for Lord Derbys
interest as Foreign Minister to make little OF the
matter as possible; course which has tie advaht-
age of soothing continental snsceptibilics and the
disadvantage Of cooling English enthusiasm. Lord
Derby is himself cold a man that the latter very
likely does not seem to him disadvantage AS a
good example Of the elaborate banter Of Sir William
Harcourt may quote the rather long but extremely
amusing passage in which he depcts-from his own
point of yiew--the changing phases of the Suez
question:
Since the speech Of the Foreign Secretary the whole a..
pect ~ the question has been completely changed bolh
home and abroad. Up To that lime sort OF glamour
had invested very plain business with the unnautal
haze that dstOrts the true proportion OF things Is
taught There something Asatic IN THIS mysterious
meloAm laugh II wa NE Il, , IhG , T9g'Sna q, ,acc.e ana
shalowy genie asonished tie bc~ilder"d spectators
nystin,d W. had done did not know exactly what
not told precisely why-ogHe i1noirm Iro mag.
nideo. The Government maintained an imposing and
pcrIIeins silence Bnt our haliy ana ~,rhy 'n'uV, 'nu
tors gave free rein 10 their magnat"n We arc "ld 10y
those who assumed me Atrouasy "i ine Riihn hcanu @
that great blow had been struck, lh,t ne" Polh hi
been uaugura"d, and that ENGLAND had ~ length re-
suucd her lead among the nations. The E,s"rn qnes-
uon had been settled by Co"g dhtdf on the STOCK *
change, aud Turkey was abandoncd to h't Ihe bsiPi
qui-hed tine Bears Of Russia. IA laugh Moab
was to I've wnshpot, and over Edon vc
NJ Issrps were conioanicd We were very great pco-
pie; mad done very big thing checrsI; and to con
anshterl attended 10y plump of financial Janissicr.
dispatched TO administer the subject province %,
the English Pruerturate on the Nile. \ laugh All
this somcwhi nronious, WAS ~ Tue ilahd nihh.I
s" sng on m thy tS ad Of Benc wa. dispos, to ak what
good of at last We could always answer like tho
why that I cannot tell" said he
"But twas gIJuous victory
lCheeral We all OF ~. Ieit inches taller than bc
fore We spread our tails like pcacocss To the san IA
laushl and were pleased as children at our soarbub
bic irldc,cent with many hues lChrcfsI bui al Oh
,uddcn THIS beautiful vision melted away the Egyptian
mirage eyaporatcd; tne great political phantasntsoria
ing so dc iighm m magic until Ia unhappy moment,
the cuuii consents To reveal the apparatus by which
our have been dcludrd and shows hs how ls
doue Lord Derby is great misJr of prose, ana ~ has
translated the Eastern romance into most ped stah LII
gllsh. A laughl
ItIsnot necessary TO charge Lord Derby with say
ing one thing and meaning another; charge from
which Sir William is eager tO defend him. Neither
/. il necessary 10 suppose that n Cabinet Minister
feels bound to explain all the motives which CON
trlbuted to a great resolve. Sir William finds II
con, encnt to assume that the Foreign Secretary has
stated not only the truth but the whole truth. 1t Is
perhaps fair politics for opponent TO assume that
he has The assumption will serve as the basis of
brilliant belittling of great act. But the people ol
England will remain Of the opinion that the act was
a great one and will ENJOY the fruits of IL long after
the criticisms it forgotten. Sir william llat-
court represented his countrynen more truly when,
a little further on hc deprecated the spirit OF party
in the treatment Of imperial questions. And he most
truly decarcd-f0nd ~ some Englisim"n and many
foreigners are of denying it-that though England
has ceased to bo of the restless Powers or DIS
turbing forces Of Europe "they would be pro-
foundly deceived who should mistake the tran
omllity of satisfied ambition for the assitude of do
caying courage" There are other passages IN the
speech of real cloquencc; notably the attack on tho
system of money exchanges III the army; one excuse
for which il swept away III this fine sentence:
We are told indeed, that other army has 10 face the
same varieties Of climate equal yIcssiiudcs 0f ct
pnsnrc That II not the fact ~ overland may the day
be far dlstant-wc eros. swords the nnrtl western
frontier Of India with tlt martial race hci hs haHcd
tb, svagc wilds of Turksia we snIl ccoun or armies
who dsain Ia traffic Tor money IN the ouiposta oi nara
ship and Of honor. ChoersI
OF the Fugitive Slave Circular, Sir william llar-
court spoke as a dead issue But it has just been
revived by the issue Of new circular which, though
an improvement on the old, scens likely to meet
al, Il, litt ~. f,V, A hag