The Portland daily press., 1885-09-21

in Glasgow after he had perused the mani
festO, and his speech displayed practical
abandonment of his independent radicalism
and the adoption of policy of opportunism.
And so it has been with Lord Harrington
and Sir William Vernon Harcourt. They
have also indicated complete submission to
Mr. Gladstone and have become opportun-
lists. There are two explanations of these
remarkable submissions. No one doubts
that if these three leaders had been permit
ted to persevere in the courses they had
mapped out for themselves, the Liberal party
would have been dismembered. 1t was
pretty generally thought that Mr.. Gladstone
was tired of public life, and had decided
to remain out of it. He was impl0red to re-
consider this determination and assume the
management of the present campaign for his
party. Success in this campaign was essen
tial to the continued existence of the Liberal
party as party, and absolute unity was a
requisite of success. Mr.. Gladstone demand
ed submission as the price of his leadership
1t is, of course, possible to suppose that
Chamberlain, Harrington and HarcOurt con-
Sented to drop their differences out of pure
desire to accomplish the success of their
party as whole and, to obtain this result,
pay Mr.. Gladstone's price. But no doubt
can be entertained that each of these three
men has been ambitious to succeed the
''grand old man" in party leadership. Cir
cumstanceS have demonstrated that the party
will at present accept no leader but him, and
that without him restoration to power is i'm
possible.
Perhaps the most remarkable proof Of the
power of the manifesto is that afforded by
the bOurses. In these markets Egyptian
stocks fell II points, and Turkish and Rus
sian securities fell three-fourths of point
almost Immediately after the publication of
the tenor of the document. The spectators
whose sales brought about these declines ex-
plain that the situation created by the mani
feste is one of probable return of Mr.
Gladstone to office, which, they say, means
British evacuation of Egypt and an uncer-
tain foreign policy on the part of England.
This extraordinary taking of time by the
forel0ck would appear to establish the fact
that Mr.. Gladstone is the most powerful man
out of power in the world
The suppositiOn that Mr.. Gladstone has
consented to lead his party back to power,
and determined, after its lodgment there, to
retire permanently, would afford the most
reasonable explanation of the conduct of the
three submissive leaders, for in this case
they would be playing for stake worth
while. In one of the opening sentences of
his manifesto, Mr.. Gladstone makes the fol-
lowing significant statement: 1T will not
be possible for me to repeat in the new Par
lament the labors of previous sessions"
This is everywhere accepted as a distinct
asseveration that he intends, if victorious in
this campaign, to confine himself to the
work OF forming mini stry, and, after re-
naming in Office long enough to assure the
successful working of his re-established gov
ernmental machinery, to retire permanently
to private life. 1t is everywhere apparent
that the ex-Premier's efforts have secured a
marvellous and instantaneous restoration of
unity in the Liberal party, and given it fight
ing trim. 1t is thoroughly revivifed. Its
electoral agents in the country districts al
ready report better prospects, the oblitera-
tion OF dissensions, and consolidation upon
single candidates.
The Tory press criticises Mr.. Gladstone's
address as 'perplexing, Ambiguous, -
''halting, ''prolix," lone of the most mac
curate, political documents ever issued to
The public" "a mere travesty on home and
foreign affairs" ETC. Even the Liberal Jour-
nails admit that the manifesto is vague and
''diffuse" But that it has been extraordina-
rily effective has beeu overwhelmingly dem
onstrated, and that result was undoubtedly
what Mr.. Gladstone aimed at. The very
vagueness and diffusiveness which charac-
terized the document have this merit that
they permit each section of the Liberal party
to interpret the whole production favorably,
according to factional inclination, and dis
arm the Conservatives of cogent criticism.
Foreign Notes.
Spain will purchase two men-of-war that
are being built in England for the japanese
government. These ships are nearly COM
pleted.