New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-06-23
BRITISH TOPICS.

|
| LONDON, June 9.-The week in Parliament has
been signalized by the production of the Suez dis
patches by a the Women's Suffrage bill, by
personal guarrel between Sir Robert Peel and SIR
| Edward Watkin, by the extinguishment TOR the
moment only, fear of the rrepressible lr. Edward
jenkins, by the defeat of wemeant efforts to soften
the barbarous discipline of the English prisons, and
| by the defeat of Mr. r. A. Taylor's resolution IN
favor Of opening museums and galleries on Sundays.
Not great calendar Of things accomplished GER
| tany.
| But the Suez matter, in which Parliament had no
/ share whatever, is not only most important, but
| has been, so far now judge, thoroughly
| well managed by the Government. This rs one
| point on which the Government and the country
heartily agreed. Lord Derbys declaration that
England will defend and protect and maintain the
Suez Canal at all hazards and against all corners
approved. will venture to say by nine Englishmcn
out of ten whose approval is worth having / said
| long ago IN discussing the purchase of the Suez
Canal shares, that they worth all they cost if
| only because that act the hosting of flag
| which England csuld never afterward haul down
| without dishOnor. Lord Derby has now nailed the
flag to the mast So long as England has ship or a
gun left that flag viii be fought for In the face of
all Europe, defying nobody but consulting nobody,
she has taken upon herself the perpetual guardian
ship OF tie highway to India. And what a cor
| dial greeting few courageous words elicit! See
how heartily NJ. de LesseFs and che French Foreign
Office, saturated they are, WERE with jealousy
| of England. adhere to Lord Deriy's declaration!
See how readily Russia herself responds through
Prince Gortchakotf with pledge that Russia has
O designs upon the canal. Only the hoarse voice
| of Mr.. Edward Jenkins is heard in remonstranee
against decision which insuTes to England and TO
the whole maritime world the Hnfettered use of a
great maritime route, the indispensable link be-
tween Europe and ASIA between West and East.
II is difficult to treat Mr. Jenkins seriously Il is
even difficult to treat him politely. He is political
outlaw, his hand against eyeYy man, and the great
est admircr of parliamentary decoTJm might swell
the chorus of derision with which that unseasona-
bic meddler was put to silence aad-One would fain
| hOpe-tO shame. 1t may be doubted whether Sir
William Harsours subsequent efforts to extract fur
ther information on the subject from the Govern
| ment might not better have been left unmade.
ask Sir Williams pardon for mentioning HIM in the
same breath with Mr. Jenkins and there is in fact,
no similarity between the questions they pu: or the
views they hold
There Is reason to doubt that the points Of the
note brought by Count Schouvaoif from Prince
Goricbakoif, in reply to Lord Derby communication
of May g. are correctly given ia the papers. heard
them repeated the day before their publication in
substantially the same terms They include assur-
ances respecting the Suez Canaland Egypt, Constan-
tnople and the Dagd2ne.les, and the Persian Gulf,
and they are So complete possibly on one point,
as 70 tie the hands of the British Government If 1t
really contemplated hostile Intervention. Russia
has no designs Oh Egypt, on the Canal, none on
the Persian Gulf As for the Darianelles, the right
to passage thrOugi them is question TO be settled
by the European Powers in concert not by any one
Tor two of them acting apart from the others The
most express pledges are gwen that Russia has no
intention of anneXlng Corstantinople But Prince
Gortchakof does not 20 so far tosay that military
reasons may not oblige Russia to take temporary
possession Of the Turkish capital. There IS the
point Of danger. 1t may still be possible for Lord
Beaconsfeld to avail himself of English suscepti-
billty on this point and dispatch by and by an En-
gllsh co,s fdree 70 anticipate the Russian advance
toward ConstantiuOple That, AT any rate Is what
those who know him best and sympathze least with
his views most fear at present.
In the debate on womau's suffrage. nothing new
was said, but the circumstances-the raging OF a
! great man. and the possible imminence Of greater
-Raye unusual force 10 Mr.. Butts demonstration
of the imuractcahlity of the proposal No partisan
of female voting has ever answered the objection
that women's votes might bring on a war which
men would have to wage. The incident which
marks this years debate is the angry struggle be-
tween MI Courtney on the one side and the major
ity on the other. Mr. Courtney rose to speak when
the House wanted TO divide. They would not listen
to him, but howled at him, and though he kept his
legs TIL the moment arrived when the rules
of the House brought the scene to an end,
hardly a word OF his speech was audible.
The majorty-a majority recruited from both SIDES
of the House-beeyed that Mr.. Courtney was talk
u ont the resolution in order 10 prevent the taking
! of the division, which would have disclosed the
weakness of ITS supporters. That was not quite So
| Mr. Courtney had no such purpose when he rose,
bnt finding that his opponents would not ls'en u
the few words he meant to say he took his revenge
| ON them by deprvng them of their division, and
! the increased majority they would undoubtedly
! have scored. 1t was not a wise thing to DO MI
Courtney is young member, with more respect Tor
brains than for acres, and makes IL little too clear
that he does not venerate the high-eolored young
Tories Of acres without brains People who witnessed
If speak Of the most dsgraceiul and the pat
rioic Bron notes with regret thatevena Turk should
have beheld it, Midhat Pasha was in the gallery.
! I believe that not only would the opponents of
female suffrage have mustered in muck greater force
than eyer before but that It's actual supporters
would have been fewer.
| The ieqdeny of to-day has long and interesting
notice of Air. Motley by the historian Mr. ;. X.
! Gardiner Ii is sufficiently critical to make It's
eulogv Of real value and Mr. Gardeners name gives
weight to his Judgment. HIS chief complaints against
Mr. Motley are his craftsmanship against the Spanaids'
and his too complex account Of diplomatic struggles.
" He could be jest 70 Il man whom he disllked' but
he eorld not be just 90 a which he disliked.
None the less does Mr. Gardiner praise Mr. Motley
! work heartily and deplore his death as " a great
loss 70 the literature which is common to both
branches Of one race"
TBe 4tLe,gan true TO it's policy OF ignoring or