New-York tribune., 1879-03-31
BRITISH HOME POLITICS.
LEADING QUESTIONS OF THE HOUR.


| lFRoM The REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE.I
| LOEDoN, March 1S.-It would be too much to ask
of this Government that 1t should do anything to
make home affairs interesting. imperialism makes
small account of what 1t delights To sneer at as
| parochial" interests; the immediate pressing in
tcrests of some 81, 1000, 900 of En- URsh, Irish and
Scotch people, living in these islands. It's idea OF
| governing is 10 keep the minds of men turned
away from matters domestic; TO dazzle them with
a spirited foreign policy; and to get without
any policy at all at home. Mr.. Herbert Spencer
ought to be content with Lord BeacOnsliePs notion
| of carrying on the Government, so far as this king
dom is concerned. They are both in favor of gov
ernng as little as possible. The present Ministry
carries this notion into practice SO thoroughly that
Parliament has offered little to interest the world
IN general during this session. There have been
! three debates which rouse1 some feeling county
! franchise, wOman'S suffrage, and the liquor
/ question. Bat the Government did not bring for
/ ward any one of the three Mr. Trevelyan moved
! the resolution for cqulllzug the borough and
| county franchise. His speech was extraordinarily
vigorous and able, and D, carried full party vote
| in favor of the measure, winch Tories openly
oppo3, and Wings secretly dslike-a triumph due
IN large measure to his personal energy and spirit.
| But it need not be said that no such measure could
be carried in the present House; or could not be
J
! itup, he once took up household suffrage and
enact it over The heads of his astonished and indig-
naut supporters Why 1t is not likely that ne will
do that Ju3t yet, / have before now explained If
! he shonld remain long enough in power he will do
il. IL will DO it, thlt 49, Whenever it shall become
/ evident to him that n Will lose power
unless he does it. So of womlns suffrage
! though | do not mean to intimate that the
two measures stand Oh a similar footing. or have an
equal claim on the attention of the country. Ii is
certain that the county franchise must be re-
formed. | should be sorry to think it certain that
/ the vote would be given 10 women, and do not
believe 1t will be given in our time. Mr. Courtneys
leadership this question is strenuous, and
! his speech left little TO be said the intel
/ tccciual side, more properly speaking on
tie theoretical argument, in favor Of the change.
On the liquor selling business Sir Wilfrd Lawson
ITS witty and jealous champion, has taken a new
stand. Instead of renewing his Permssiye bill
proposal. he Contented himself with a rather vague
resolution in favor Of local legislation. He so
! phrascd il as to win certain amount of support
| from men who do not believe in prohibitory acts,
! but who do believe in transferring some of the
jurisdiction now exercised by Parliament to munich
! pal and other local bodies. Ministers have always
! held themselves Open to convection on the woman
suffrage issue, but on tho liquor traffic they are
bound hand and foot. They owe their places to the
publcans, and the publcans are tho last body of
men whom they will venture to Offend Some of
| them voted for Mr.. COurtney's resolution. 10 Sir
| Wilfrid Lawson's they opposed a solid ana impreg-
nabe front.
Down to last Friday these were the chief points
af Parliamentary discussion. Since then. two things
have occurred much better calculated to turn the
eyes of the public toward that talking machine"
which the Prime Minister does his best to discredt.
Again it is not the Government who are respOn-
| sible 1t is, in the case, Mr.. Edward jenkins;
! in the other, the Irish Brigade. Mr. Edward Jen-
kins in the exercise of what suppose he calls his
discretion ito borrow a sharp phrase from Mr..
! Gladstone, who will not miss it, Fri
day night attacked Lord Chelmsford. On
| the merits of the case, Mr.. Edward jenkins
was right But he is one Of those men who cOntriye
to spoil the best case. He has genius for doing
the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong
! way Ii was not his business TO move 4 censure on
! Lord Chelmsford In order TO move II, he took ad
| vantage OF a technical rule by which the order Of
business was interrupted. He violated the sense OF
| fair play which the House holds sacred by be-
| ginning an attack on an absent man without notice.
! He attempted to bring on n debate to the
! conduct of the war in South Africa without con
! sultation with his own friends and after his own
friends had committed the whole subject to another
man. 1t is even said that Sir Charles Dixie had
! been selected 10 move the Zulu resolution (which
| comes on next week Thursday in order to
! keep the matter out of Mr.. Jenklns's hands
! Having sprung his motion and begun his
! speech he persisted IN continuing, in defiance
| of the admOnitiOn Of the Speaker the
turbulent opposition of the majority, and the pro-
| tests which came from the benches about him. He
was not heard. The strong-lunged Tories shouted
| HIM down. After thiee-qnarterS OF an hour ot
/ dumb show he had to take ms scat. Except that
! he wears an armor OF concct proof against every
! impression, he could not bat have feat that he
! had done irrcparable injHry to the cause be
/ had at heart. No doubt he sincere
/ in thinking that the retention OF Lord
/ Chelmsford IN command in south Africa Is blum
der aud something worse than n blundcr. The
weight Of public opinion was on the same side. But
! NrJ,nkns's ill-adyiscd ana ungencroas method OF
! attacking Lord Chelmsford provoked a reaction IN
! his favor He did more to strengthen this weak
! General in his command than victory would have
done When he had finished, lie was rebukcd
and thrown over by his own leader. Lord
! Harrington expressed his regret at the course
! Mr. Jenkins had taken, and declared that the Gov
crument and the Government only were responsible
/ for keeping Lord Chelmsford III his place. ana
that for his part he did not mean to relieve them ol
one atom of their responsibility. 1t must be SAID,
/ further that the scene was discredlfabe TO the
! House as well as to Mr.. Jenkins. Tho Tories stihed
an unpopular opponent by brutal cries and mere
noise. The Speaker did nothing TO stop the tnmult'
or to secure to Slr. Jenkins the right to be heard
right nd less clear because njadiciously claimed
/ and fooshly perseyefed in
For what happened last night the Irish members
! are responsible They have recommended their
! system of obstruction. They have also taken
! first step toward Home Rule by publicly proclaim
! inn IN tln Innsn Of Commons that they and their