The sun., 1879-02-09
ma OnIXE POLITICs IN EN0LAND.


organization of parties have lately won quito
general acceptance IN Great Britain. Th,eo
amount to a substantial adoption Of the nomi-
mating conventions which, for nearly two eou.
crations. have obtained in the United ttt.s.
Now in the EXISTING predicamcnt oi the Liberal
pnriy such n movement is intcigibir cnuull.
and indeed might have bcrn expected { follow
sooner or later the widening Of the suffrage.
Not the lcss docs its Introduction scom li.r, 70
entail grave changes in the working of tho
British Constitution.
A recourse - moro compact and cnooiivo
party machinery has been forced on English
Liberals by circumstances analogous To ui..o
which produced similar result in the Uir.d
Stntes With the election OF 1924 when tte
opposition to Ja 'kson gave more Of lts strength
to- adams nnd Clay than TO Crawford. the rrtu-
lar candidatc-tbc old system OF nomination "
Congressional caucus. which had long been ,le-
cining. received its death blow. In Ike f.au-
nor. during the present Parliament the trail-
tional party ties and means Of discipline haye
proved wholly insufficient to hold together tho
opponents Of the Ministry. First camo tird,-
fection of the Home Rulers who. On almost IA
occasions. now vote with the Conservative.
Then followed the schism Of the old Wings. led
by the Marquis Of Harrington. joined trcscnuy
10y section OF tho Radicals who refused 10
sanction Mr.. Gladstone's attitude toward tho
Eastern question. Accordingly the great pnrty
which presented such solid front ten years
ago and which seemed 10 hold in Zee
the good will and confidence Of tho
nation. has offered throughout the past scs-
sion a doeful spectacle Of impotont dis
integraion. 1t has been clear to all observers
that the opposition to Lord Beaconsned could
not hope to triumph. or even to hold liz own. Mt
the next general election. without funda-
al oi,o Il, pf1 l. -
great mistake TO suppose the leaders of tho
purity have not pronted by the lessons Of their
dissensions and defeats. On the contrary. they
have taken step which not only Tories but
some Liberals characterize as revolutionary.
What is known as the Birmingham system OF
party machinery has been warmly advocated
by Nr. Gladstone has been commended 10y sue
cess In some recent elections. and is now atu-
ally working In moro than hundred boroughs.
Moreover. the Conservatives. who at first de-
cried IL. have begun to reproduce It's distinctive
features. and tho prospects are that Its inftu-
ence will 20 far 10 shape the next House oi COM
mons What is this Birmingham system. ard
how closely is it modelled on our own political
machinery2
What Is known rs tho Birmingham Grand
Committee" Is really combination OF our 10
cal standing committees and Of nominating
conventions. All the electors who vote with tho
Liberal party may. II they choose. take part In
ward meetings which correspond precisely To
our primaries. Tho Board. however ntrUsted
with representative functions. consists OF six
hundred members the number. Of course. vnry-
ing according 10 the size of the constituency.
and is chosen not for specific purpose or oc-
custom. but for an extended term. During this
period the whole political authority Of its con-
s,ituents Ia delegated to the Committee which.
10y majority vote. approves or rejects u
given policy. names candidates for municipal
as we'll ms national offices. and takes thought
for all those electioneering appliances which
were heretofore RELOCATED TO professional man
ayers or borough brokers. or course the ap-
plication OF such n system has resulted in
crushing out dissensions within the party, and
in giving tho dominant sentiment IN unrhal-
lenged mastery Of its whole strength at tho
polls. The scheme. therefore. Is essentially
identical with that under which the political
intentions OF the American people have bsrn
elected and organized for nearly fifty years.
We know all about its merits and is incon-
vcnences; and we arc not surprised TO hear
that its unifying tendency has already re-
covered one borough for tho Libernle AMI Is
likely to reinstats thom in "A large number Of
seats
That Is not the only consequence almost cer-
tain to follow from the imitation Of our poiiti-
cal methods. Already. in Birmingham aud
some other boroughs, which have reproduced
its system a complete fusion OF national and
local politics has occurred entaiing the samo
absorption of vacant places by tho party in
power which was first observed on n largo
scale in the United States under Jackson's Adj
ministraton. Moreover. contributions seem 10
De expected from ofliceholders which Of oourse,
is long step toward the levying OF assessments.
and the proceeding is justified by an argument
with which we are familiar namely. tilas
those who profit by the party machine
ought 10 bear tho burden OF its main
tenance No doubt tho great majority Of
county and municipal as we'll rs imperial
Offices in Great Britain are at present tenable
for life or good behavior, but. tested By our ex-
periencc. how long could such state OF things
be expected to survive the long deferred and
costly triumph OF "A party managed by profess
sional politicians ms under the Birmingham
scheme must ultimately be the case7 We must
anticipate another result still moro significant.
distinct and narrow issue is essential 10 the
working OF our political machinery, and we
have found in practice that the sharpcst. cloar-
est and most effective OF all issues is tho name
OF party chief There Is nothing unroa-
sonable in the cry OF alarm raised by op-
ponents Of the Birmingham system. that
its universal adoption would lead 10 tho
nomination OF British Premier by q
national convention made up ofdcegatos from
the local committees. To such culmlna-
uon the Introduction OF our party methods docs
unquestionahly point. But we could not easily
oyerrac the shock which such n state of things
would inhict upon the nice equipoise ot powers
and functions in the British Constitution. n
would BE- no longer possible. for instance u
describe Ministry "a a committee of the House
OF Commons. And how long could tho House
OF Peers, which has well nigh shrunk already
into legal fiction. or even the dignity and au-
thority Of the Crown, withstand the direct elrc-
tion Of the yertabe executive by the English
people,
The Eject Of Color oa Life.