Morning journal and courier., 1885-06-27


 The Gladstone cabinet, which survived the l defeat of Majuba Hill in South Africa, the 1 fall of Khartoum, and the death of General Gordon, has come to grief on the question of | beer, which will go the length of proving that beer is the most important factor in English politics. The Conservatives are re- 1uctant to take office just now. It is true that there is nothing tempting in taking up lease which has so short 8 time to run, es- pecially when he edifce is in such bad re- pair. They would naturally much prefer to appear before the.electors, at the forthcom- ing general election, as critics of a policy that has proved a failure, rather than as | members supporters of government that ! has not been able to do much better. How ever they have created the situation and | they ought to accept the result of their 1 handiwork The defeat, which was owing to I the absence of sixty Lib erals, somewhat | startled the Conservatives. Yet party lead l CTS, who have been moving votes of censure, l session after session, regularly every fort l night, ought not to be suppressed when one of them proves successful. Unpleasant as | the task seems to be, if the Conservatives | are such good patriots as they set up for, | they cannot hesitate to undertake it; they | have bowled out their opponents, they should ! take the bat in hand. MT. Gladstone is said I to have determined to retire into private ! life, 50 that if Lord Salisbury declines the | task of forming new ministry Lord Hartlng- | ton will probably be called upon to form Liberal cabinet to wind up business of the ! season. After the government had been defeated, 1 and the Conservative cheers had died away, ! 8 scene was enacted on the floor of the House \ which was of pathetic interest. Lord Rich ! ard Grosvenor, brother of the Duke of West ! minister, came up to MT. Gladstone, appar- ently to offer his assurances that he, as chief | whip, had spared no trouble to save the ship. I Mr. Gladstone seemed to accept his assur- ! ance, as he held out his hand and shook that | of Lord Richard warmly, and it is easy to assume that he accompanied the act with the | remark that that division had terminated his | long and eventfal career in the House of Commons. This episode seemed to touch all the assistants, even the Tories, who saw it, ! and it sent hush through what was a noisy and boisterous House. So says the Freeman's Journal. MT, Gladstone has now served his l Queen and country over fifty years, and no doubt it was strange and melancholy sight to see the brightest ornament of the House of Commons, the greatest orator of his times, | disappear from the political stage on mere question of beer and spirits.
 | We sometimes hear on the continent anus I ing stories of the free and easy divorce laws of America. It is popularly supposed over here that Beatrice can divorce Benedict for persisting in wearing pattern of coat that offends her eye, or that he can divorce her for not giving him his coffee as strong as he l likes it. Making allowance for exagge, ations, there is no doubt that the fair have bet ter times on the other side of the Atlantic than in the mother country. Over here the unhappy wife of an adu1terous husband must prove that she has been treated cruelty by him before she can obtain divorce. If one may judge by the case of Wodehouse versus Wodehouse, tried yesterday at the Divorce court, man may make it very hot for his wife without being found guilty of cruelty towards her. MT. Wodehouse, 8 country | clergyman, whose wife was in delicate health | and near her confinement, left her without money, and at the tender mercy of cook l with whom he had committed adultery giving orders not to attend to her supply her i with food or necessaries. The judge decided I that the reverend gentleman had behaved in an abominable manner, but that he had not been cruel to his wife Wanted, definition of cruelty. It is easy to see that it is the men who make the law.
 l For years past the examiners in French of the university of London had asked the fol lowing preposterous question: "Name the only French noun ending in ence, which is masculine" I suggested to one of them that, if the candidates had not been told the an- swer beforehand, they would have to review in their minds the 4, 900 and some words that make up the French language, till they reached the word in question. succeeded, am happy to say, in ridding the future papers of this Chinese puzzle. The question was afterwards in @ more sensible manner; viz, sFState why silence is the only French noun that is not feminine" The candidates, knowing that it from Latin neuter, ] 14, IL, Al,ao aminer came to me furious. "What do you think of this for a piece of impudence?" he said to me; and he handed me can didate's paper on which I read, "Silence is the only French noun that is not feminine, because silence is the only thing that French women can't keep"
 What would the English do but for the I peasantry of France and other continental countriesa If for one cause another the supply of eatables sent daily by industrious foreigners should suddenly stop everyone would realize the great dependency of Eng land upon her neighbors. During the week ending May 20th there was imported into this country among other foreign produce no less than 5,914 pounds sterling worth of ! poultry, 5, ,206, ,5A pounds of butter and 24,- 641 ,O4O eggs. Yet there is land lying idle in all parts of the country; hands waiting for work to do; and yet for want of a little or 9anization the English go on paying fabulous
 
 the while crying out: "What shall we do with our sons?" A partial solution of the latter difficulty and incidentally of the for mer in a measure has just been put forward. It is proposed to form Guild of Agriculture to buy land, which may now be had cheap in many places, and teach the young men who join it practical farming, which will as sist them in starting the battle of life for themselves at home or in the colonies. The members would live in community and ac- cording to rule of life laid down for the or der. Almost every necessary required by the community would be grown or made on the premises so that there would be no room for idleness. The members would have to enter into an agreement to remain in the community for three years and not to marry until they leave it. Even if the Guild did not result in the production of many chick ems and ducks, it would be doing good in preventing a lot of young fellows from rush ing too early into matrimony and hampering themselves with herds of little John and Jen- nie Bulls before they have the means of keep ing them.
 The Anarchists are always amusing and es- pecially practical. The French Working mems Revolutionary Congress has passed the following resolutions: The abolition of the Presidency of the republic and of the Sen ate; the reference or every act of Parliament to the people; the confscation of the ecclesi-
 astical property; the abolition of judges, and,
 instead, the election of arbtrators; gratui-
 tous legislation; gratuitous education for all
 classes; all officials to be elected by the peo-
 pie. This would, indeed,- be jolly state of
 things which should satisfy the fashionable
 craving for elections. The soldiers would
 elect their officers, choosing those who would
 promise them that they should not be shot or
 taken to climates that would not agree with
 them; the school boys would elect their mas
 ters, showing preference for those who do
 not believe in caning or imposition; Messrs.
 Lightfnger and Swindleton would elect for
 arbitrators gentlemen having little sympa-
 thy for the craft. In my mind the Congress
 seems to have overlooked an important reso-
 lution; that is: All candidates elected by
 the people that shall not give satisfaction to
 the people shall be immediately dismissed by
 the people This would give plenty of oecu-
 patton to the people who "have no work to do''-and who want no work to do.
 A strange story has just come from Japan
 to the effect that European dress is to be
 made compulsory for all officials while en-
 gagged about their official duties. Unless
 this kind of work in Japan consists largely
 o1s, ,IT1fV n1.