New-York tribune., 1879-08-30
THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT.
A STORMY BUT FRUiTLEss SESSION.


lFRoN THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT oP THE rRIBUNR'l
| LONDON, Aug. 16.-It is q melancholy business to
review the session of Parliament which yesterday
came 10 an end The regret feels is not so much
because little was done. With Tory Government
in power little can be expected in the way OF re-
form legislation Nor with any Government can
performance be expected to ontrun promise In JUS
tice to this Ministry we must remember that II lt
has done little it promised little and that Its prom
| ises were of suchi q nature that 1t dld NOT
| greatly matter to the country whether they
were fulfilled or evaded There was nothing
| in the Queens Speech last February TO
arouse enthusiasm. Bills relating to bankruptcy
| to railway commissions, to county boards 10 val
uation, to summary jurisdiction to poor law amend
ment for Scotland and to the criminal code are not
| measures which stir public opinion 10 lts
! depths Yet these were the chief features in the
| programme put forsh at the beginning OF tue ses-
sion. Some of them were useful measures, but the
success or failure of any one. or of all, could not
ma eriaIly promote or materially njure the welfare
of great nation. Nor would one found an indict-
ment against an administration on the fact thatthey
all came to naught. am not gong to deal with
them in detail, nor with any of them. should
despair of rousing interest Ill such things among
foTeigI people whom they do not directly concern
| The ue charge against this Ministry in consider
ing tn history of this session Is that 1t mas shown
| pitab.e ncapacity for the conduct OF affairs. 10
adopt the favorIte expression OF the Duke OF Neli-
ingt1n, il has proved itself unable to carry on the
Government of the Queen creditably and ell
fcicntiy. There has not been so weak a Ministry
since Lord Mebourne's-not even when Mr.. Dsraell
avowed that the Ministry which he represented IN
the Commons existed sufferance. Lord Mel
bournGs was weak because it had an insufficient
/ in t,a nd m OF
own, nor knowledge of what the country then
wanted But this Ministry has had an ObedIent
majority in both Houses of Parliament and strong
party behind it, If not an actual majority, IN the
constituencies. 1t has none the less wavered and
paltered. 1t is nothing to say that 1T has not hGd
the courage of its convictions. 1t does not appear
to have had either courage or convictions.
The two features of the session have been the
conflicts on the Army Discipline bill and the pas
sage OF the Irish University bill. The former was
one of the measures mentioned In the royaI mes
sage, but nobody then supposed 1t would rouse any
serious opposition. 1t came to be stalking-horse
for Obstruction and hence it was that great
battle ragged for nearly three months on measure
OF a purely disciplinary character. The lrIsh mem
bers-those of them belonging to what Mr. Butt, their
late leader called the party of exasperation-take
credit to themselves for having humanized this
particular piece of legislation. They say they
tried to abolish the cat" and that they nearly sue
ceedod-that, although they have not abolished IT,
they have so restricted the Of it as to make its
abolition a certainly in the near future Ihey
point to this result as a proof that obstruction,
instead of being the dsreputable and barren policy
its opponents pretend is in fact fruitful ana
benefeent policy. If the facts were as the IRISH
men represent them, the conclusion would not 1oi-
low But the facts are not as the lrlshmen REPRE-
sent them. great part of the contest between the
Irish and the Government turned on matters which
mad nothing to do with 1Ogging. Mr.. Parnell aud
his confederates fought other clauses Of the Army
bill with tue same logged determination they
showed on the horging causes They had simply
picked out this bill, as LEY might have picked
out any other vouminous act as one on which they
might try their strength with the Government. 1t
was almost an accident that they afterward found
a measure of support on the fogglng question, aud
cbanced TO touch point for which the public really
cared. When they found that the public disllked
the "cat,n they used that dislike as one weapon
more in their struggle, and they thereupon sought
to clam The benefit Of a purpose which was not
theirs in the beginning, and of a moral sentiment
which they had little share in rousing.
Some odium has fallen on the Government for de-
Tending the cat. l don't think they deserve it;
that the censure they have earned is due to their
partality for brutal punishments. What they
must be blamed for is their culpabe weakness In
dealing with the whole matter Of obstructionj of
which the wranCle about fogging was only one In
cident At the opening of the session. Sir Stafford
Nortbcote made feeble attempt TO check obstruc-
ton. Heproposed revision of the rules OF the
House The first and least important, was debated
for three nights and adopted. There the attempt
ended. The rest were laid on the shelf,
nf aga
ment TO the obstructonists TO go on with
their obstruction. They did go on with it.
The Government from time TO time resisted. expos
tnlated entreated and iuallv cOndescended to bar
gain with the enemy it ought to have crushed In
tbe bepinning The bargain ended In capitula-
ton. This Ministry, with Lord BeacOnsfed at Its
head. which is forever Dragging about It's spirited
foreign policy hauled down its flag to the Home
Rulers. After making faces at Russia and making
war on the Ameer Of Afghanstan, it surrendered to
knot of disorderly politicians i'll the House, whom
II had first despised and then bulled without effect
The Irisbmen made e5Od their threat that the
business of the Government and the country should
not he carried on without some concession
70 them. They had urged the Government at the
beginning of the session to bring in measure Of
Irish University education. There had Deen some ne
cotiation The Government thought the Irish asked
FOO much. and refused not without marks OF con-
tamnt AZ the session dvanced and the efficacy ofob-
s.rnction became palmer, the Government wavered.
They coouetted with The OConor Don bill. When
their own supporters rebeed against so open meas
ure Of endowment for Catholic colleges Ministers
took another line They reopened the negotiations
which they had broken of in January. They par
leyed with the enemy thev had so often defied.
Tbov entered into a contract. 1t is not 20 bcsup-
nosed that the agreement between them was
drawn up in writing or even expressed
I'm plain terms in conversation. But 1t was