The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-05-29
Three English Statesmen

London Letter In Boston Herald.
When Lord Randolph Churchill.
the Marquis of Salisbury and Sir Will
liam Harcourt are on the stump, you
may be quite sure that something is
being said that is quite worth hear
ing. And they all have been on the
stump with vengeance the past
week. If only Mr.. Joseph Chamber
lain had mounted the rostrum and ut
tered his crisp and swapping sentences,
we would then have heard the crack of
the whip all around. These four politi-
clans all have what Mr.. Mat. Arnold
is pleased to call "takingness." The
press and the public are always on the
lookout for what they have to say. 1t
Is not that their words are always
words OF wisdom, but that their
words are never lacking in wit. They
tiers. There is something less tangible
in their spec ches even than pictures.
A certain effect of rhetorical group
ing of ideas and phrases that is like
fragrance 1omething spicy and pun
gent that is difficult to dercribe char
acterizes the spe cches of all these po-
liGical orators.
Sir William Harcourt Is positively
unique. He is an awfully clever
man. Wit with him is as cheap as
dirt. When Sir William Is not witty,
he is not Sir William; and no man in
the Unitod Kingdom would rather be
himself than Sir William. On this
score contentment reigns within his
heart. Wherever Sir William is, is
the head of the ranks. All his little
red balloons, when fully blown up,
really looked lovely as he held
the strings in his hands, but
soon one after another of the strings
began to snap, and the little red bal
looms floated off beyond his guidance.
In short. he virtually lampooned the
house of commons Ior enduring any
speaking whatever, and, without the
least ostensible provocatIon, slashed
away at France for wishing to get
into Egypt as soon as England got
out. The French cabinet is, naturally
enough, offended at this accusation,
and, Justly enough, thinks that If it Is
believed in England, it should have
been ventilated under other circum--
stances, and not by any one of her
majesty's ministers on the stump. -,
Lord Salisbury has been raspine
away at Manchester. He simply SAYS
that the Liberal ministers have done
the things they ought not to have
done, and have left undone the things
they ought to have done, and that
the g Is no health in them. lie says
that the country Is sick and tired of
their rule. and that they are towards,
or otherwise they would consent to
dissolve parliament and appeal to
the constituencies. This is the gist
of his lordships contention He sees
the empire falling to pieces. He says
the present government has allowed
the French to take Madagascar, the
Russians all the territory north of the
Himalayas, and also has permitted the
Beers to achieve their Independence.
whereas England should have held
these In her own tight grip. He con-
tends now that the country should alb
sorb Egypt in the interest of civiliza-
ton, and, forsooth, in the interest of
English commerce.
But Sir William Harcourt and Lord
Salisbury are mot in it," when Lord
Randolph Churchill puts on the belt.
They are as sounding brass and tink-
ing cymbal.' He Is a whole brass
band. When he mounts the stump 1t
is like the parade of a circus-band,
wagon and all. l sometimes am led to,
believe ne is the cleverest-indeed, the.
statesman of his day. He
strikes out from the shoulder of very
truth He manages to attract more
to himself end to what he
says than any other parliamentarian
of his day. He takes perfectly indie
pendent course, going when it is
smooth and when 1t is rough. He
taunts his own leaders with incom-
pet ancy, and his political oponents
with stupidity snd cupidity. He con-
fesses in public that he has neither the :.
confidence nor the friendship of the
Q der conservatives, who lead in the
Lords and in the Commons, and says
If they were in power, he does not
know what their policy would be.