New-York tribune., 1885-02-17
will not do 1t, one may safely say, by selecting
as Secretary of the Treasury any one or Inc n'en
who are now supposed to be in his mind.
pPTNPOSE.G1THERING.

England seems to be gathering primroses In
,,emorv of Lord BeacOnstield. Liberals affect
to make distinctions between the present cam
naipns and those which were fought under the
lost Administration but it is not easy to follow
their sophistries The Afghan battles were not
one whit more Improbable than the work that
is now goinZ on in, the SOudan; and although
the advocates of vigorous foreign policy pro-
fest that there are no echoes in their Oratory or
the blatant brag of the JingO music hall, they
are in reality justifyng Lord BeacOnstield s
course and trayersng the principal counts OF
the indictment upon which his Administration
was condemned by the English constituencies.
The last phrase coined by that prince of political
phrase-makers was that his successor was
sscuttling out Of Afghanistan." That is me
word which is used to-day "a often by the LAD
eral as by the Tory press in describing the Gov
ernment's dealings abroad. From the lombard
ment of Alexandria there has been series OF
snasmodc efforts to scuttle out of the response
bilitics of conquest and in South Africa, on the
Hindoo Koosh and in the South Seas. the de-
thronemento OF England is assumed to have bee II
proclaimed "Our Imperial position Is
phrase used as often now as in the days when
Lord Beaconsfield considered it safe and polite
to denounce his great rival as sOphlstical rhet-
orician inebriated with bombastic eloqucnce.
There is the same Mdcule of the Manchester
school for insisting upon conducting the affairs
of the Empire on the cheap" There is the
same contemptuous disregard of the prejudcos
of Radical politicians against an incessant and
meddlcsome activity abroad that diverts atten-
ton from domestic affairs.
Will the new electorate 20 primrose gather
ing7 That is n question which Is perpexins
the leaders of English opinion. Under the re
form Bill two millions of the Queens subjects
will cast at the next election their first ballot
and by the compromise scheme of redistribution
of seats n revolution has virtually been accom-
plished in the representative system. Both
Liberals and Tories have counted upon
strengthening their political position with the
aid of the new electors. But who can say what
is the attitude of these constituencies In regard
to foreign policy The Reform Bill is triumph
for English democracy. What sort of diplo-
macy is to find favor with the new voters
VIII they regard home, colonial and foreign
questions as inseparabe, the responsibilities OF
Elnpire as a trust that can be indefinitely en-
larged. and the obligation to increase the British
army and to strengthen the navy one that Min
isters must not be allowed to shlrk Mr..
Goschen takes this view; Mr.. Courtney and Mr.
Morley strongly dissent, and adhere to the tra-
diiions of the Manchester economists; and NJ.
Chamberlain, for once. deserts the Radical
cotere and speaks as imperously rs Mr. Forster
or Lord Roscbery of the duty of English work
ingmen throughout the world to keep the flag
flying wherever it has been or may be planted.
But no statesman has right to speak for the
new electorate. When 1t speaks for itself the
world will have n clearer idea of the tendencies
of English civilization.