Helena weekly herald., 1885-06-11

There is a prospect that the elections for
members of the next House of Commons in
Great Britain will be the most exciting
ever known. The question of war with
Russia will he one of the issues, but il is
not by any means certain that it will be
the leading one. The Liberals have out
lined a few demands that will almost
amount to a revolution in the British Con-
stitution. They propose to attack the
House of Lords, cutting down the number
of the hereditary Peers and substituting
life titles therefor. They propose further
TO change the law of entail, doing away
with the right of primogeniture, so that
the large estates shall be divided, and in
connection with this to simplify the law of
conveyances. If these changes are made
the British government will become more
popular and very much stronger. The
idea of hereditary legislation seems to us
preposterous. A mars fitness for that posi-
tion depends upon his personal qualities,
not upon his name, or ancestors, or the
amount of land he holds. IL is the uni
versal testimony of history that there is a
tendency TO degeneracy in every family.
The sons of really great men are seldom
equal to their fathers in any respect, not
withstanding the utmost care in their edu-
tion. In fact, the general rule is that they
are interiors to the average. The social
restriction of intermarriage tend also to
degeneracy. There are not one-third of
the members of the House of Lords
that are personally fit for their posi-
tions, and if their places could be filled by
more suitable men from other ranks of life
it would vastly increase the ability and
influence of that branch of the legislature.
What seems to US so natural and desirable
a change il not going to be accomplished
without long and desperate struggle.
There are certain very powerful Whig
families who will oppose this change as
stoutly as the Tories, and in the end there
will be a breaking up of political parties
and a reorganization on different principles,
lily names, and the innate respect for titles
and noble blood will stay the progress of
this popular revolution probably genera
tion or more, but it is evident to us on this
side of the Atlantic that il is coming and
nothing in the world can stay its march.
We are not sure but in the very next cleo
ton the alliance of the Wings and Liberals
will 90 to pieces. To all appearances Glad
stone is the only common tie that its ex-
istence depends upon, and he cannot in the
natural course of things live much longer
Harrington or Churchill are neither of them
competent to lead a national party. Any
government they could form would not
stand two years, and it is very hard to
pick out the men that will be the leaders
ten years hence. That is going to be a
stormy, critical period. England for the
first time in history has not single ally on
the continent of Europe, and so long as this
condition continues she will hardly dare to
engage in war that will bring down upon
her the united military strength of the
continent. The most natural ally of Eng
land is the United States, and there are a
thousand things to indicate that there will
some time be an alliance of all the English
speaking nations on the earth. The hopes
of liberty, enlightenment and commerce
rest on the accomplishment of this result.