The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-01-13
The Distress I'm England-Lord Beacons-
fields Terrible Temptation.

more dreary picture. The distress comes
at time when England is in the flush and
JOY of her Christmas season, season es-
pecially consecrated in the English mind to
happiness and good cheer. The first thought
that naturally occurs is one of profound
sympathy for our cousins across the sea,
our hope that the evil will soon pass away,
and our wish to do what we can to aid
them. Our English residents will have the
opportunity of aiding their brethren at
home, just as our Irish citizens aided their
friends during the famine. Another thought
that occurs to us is more particularly ad-
dressed to Kearney and ruffians like him,
who go about preaching against our country.
Let them compare our condition with that
of England. America advancing and pros
porous, England receding and suffering
They will see how foolish and wild is all
this clamor; how disastrous would be
their agitation, if successful, to all social
and political good feeling and to the best
interests of the Republic.
The outlook in Europe is, unhappily, not
confined to England. The causes which
underlie the present distress in Great
Britain are to be examined by committee.
In England when any special trouble dis
turbs the general welfare it is made the
subject Of Parliamentary inquiry. This
might do in the discussion of the paper
duty, or the malt tax, but a committee sit
ting to inquire why men and women have
no bread at q time when men and women
ctor 10 I'll
government. England suffers in sympathy
with the other nations of Europe. She
suffers more, perhaps, because her climate
is stern and nature requires more nour-
ishment than in other lands, and the
people are not as thrifty as in France and
Spain. We are told that England is the
earth Of majesty, the other Eden, a happy
breed of men, precious stone set in the
silver sea, and so on. This is the poets
rhetorical finery. England is so populous,
and wealth is so unequally divided, and the
land is SO much withdrawn from farming
purposes, that she is dependent upon other
countries for food. A nation so circum-
stanced will naturally bend before the
storms Of distress and depression which
sweep over all countries. Italy and Spain
are far poorer than England. The rate of
wages the average of savings, the price of
bread and the character Of food in Italy and
Spain ore inferior The Spaniard will be
happy over his penny mess OF beans, and
the Italian will doze in the sunlight and
rejoice over a handful Of maccaroni. Much
of this is from habit, much from necessity.
The hard work exacted from the laborer in
England and the hard climate SO often sur
rounding him render necessary more food
than the Spaniard or Italian requires
More food requires more money, and as
consequence the distress which now per-
vades Europe takes in England the shape Of
want and starvation.
When people starve statesmen tremble.
What will Lord Beaconsfeld do? If His
Lordship's Downing street closet should
be opened we have no doubt that the
skeleton would be labelled agricultural
Distress" Lord Beaconsfeld has had a ro-
mantle and picturesque success in the past
few years. He has influenced the politics
of England and Europe to q degree never
before equalled by an English statesman.
He has won at every point, in Berlin, in
Parliament, in India He has given new
dominions to the British Empire and q new
gem to the British crown. Now, at the
consummation of his fame CHASTITY prob
lem awaits him. Distress" in England,
depression" in business, famine in
London! We can imagine nothing more
cruel-not even in the pitiless irony
of history-than statesman bound
with the laurels of Berlin and Cabul, fresh
from victories over Bismarck and the Czar
calling upon England to rise up and rejoice
and ring the bells to rejoice as though
another Waterloo had been won, and
meeting only hungry Manchester and
starving Birmingham. We know of
no statesman in English public SER
vice less fitted to deal with such
q master of phrases. A phrase is ottentimes
as much as victory. phrase will satisfy
national pride or national vanity. 1t will
not satisfy nations hunger. What will
His Lordship do? A statesman of real finan-
cial genius, like Mr. Gladstone. would de-
vote the resources of the Empire, not to the
rectification Of scientific boundaries, but to
feeding the people in time of want and try
ing to prevent the recurrence of it. The
danger with Lord Beaconsfield is that he
will try more daring and terrible ex-
pedient.
One of the most cynical and selfish of
Napoleon's confessions was his avowal that
he was compelled to make war to nmuse
and occupy the French people and keep
them from thinking too much of home
affairs. Unless Lord Beaconsiield can solve
the present situation the temper of his
mind will be to throw the nation into a war.
Lord Beaconsfeld, since his Premiership,
has seemed possessed by restless longing
for the fame of Richelieu and Chatham