Omaha daily bee., 1885-01-03

are perfectly familiar In this country,
and which have sto) ID success
fully the test of experience.
There are at the present time a few
less than three millions Of registered
voters in England, Scotland and Wales.
To this number the franchise bill adds
about two millions. So large an addition
to the legal voters would be in itself
little short of a peaceful revolution. But
1t Is insignificant, in comparison with the
changes which will be effected by the re-
distribution bill. Of these the least Inn
portant ia the increase In the size of the
house of commons, which is already alb.
aurdly large. Since the union of Great
Britain and Ireland the house has num-
bered 653 members, but, In consequence
of acknowledgements and suspensions, the
actual number of sitting members at
present is GAO. Under the new bill
the house will consist Of go members,
twelve additional members having been
given to Scotland. By other provisions
of the bill, boroughs are disfranchised or
reduced in the number of their repre-
sentatives to such an extent as to place
160 seats at the disposal of the house, or
seventeen more than came under the
operation of the reform bill of 1882.
OF these seats n~iuety.six will be given
to the counties, thereby increasing the
county representation to nearly that ex-
tent, and aixty-four to the large towns.
London will have fifty.nine members,
instead OF twenty-five as at present,
and Liverpool nine, instead of three;
Glasgow and Birmingham will be
raised from three each to seven each;
Manchester will DO raised from three to
ak, and Leeds from three to five; and
Edinburgh, Dublin, Belfast and Bristol
will have their representation doubled.
Still more important are the sweeping
away OF the three-cornered constituent
cies-an ingenious but not very wise plan
for securing minority representation
and the introduction of the system of
single representative districts. The latter
Is &c entirely In accordance with our
American theories and practice
that it would scarcely seem
possible that any one could seriously
object to the single district system.
Two views may be taken of the present
excitement in Germany over what is
termed the affront offered by the reichs-
tag to Bismarck. One may believe that
the German people are really indignant
at the acts of their representatives, and
that the refusal of the popular majority
to comply with the demand of the chan.
cellor for thu creation of q second direc-
torship in the m!nistry of foreign affairs
was, in fact, an unjustifable insult to
him; or, on the other hand, one may
come to quite an opposite conclusion.
Bismarck, 1t muht be remembered, is
not sentimental. He Is the most thor.
oughly practical diplomatist and astute
politician of his day. To his enemies,
whether at homo or abroad, he Ia a dam
gerous man to deal with. His success is
in q large degree due to his ability to
~foresee what will be the shrewdest ma
%noeuvres of his adversaries before they
conceive them, and to turn them to his
own best advantage. In the present in
stance, then, it Is manifestly unfair to
him to suppose that the recent stubborn
ness of the reichstag was unforeseen by
him, or that he was unprepared to meet
defeat, and by q masters stroke to turn
it into victory. Lat the facts in the case
speak for themselves.
With the late elections came the clear
est proofs that the government con-
trolled only a minority in the new
Reichstag. 1t was certain from the out
set that u~ltramontanes, socialists and the
other elements, hostile by nature to the
chancsllor's policy, would be able and
willing to defeat Bismarck in critical
junctures. At least two parliamentary
divisions on important points showed
this fact soon after the Reichstag
opened Its sessions. What was to be
done2 To dissolve at once, without
a popular Issue, or at least one
more popular than those known at
the election just completed, would but
insure renewed triumph for political en-
emies already flushed with victories at
the polls and in the forum. A r~allying
cry was needed. and a cry Bismarck has
made. He asked for a minor concession,
the creation of an Office, which, if pro-
posed without noise, would probably have
been granted. But he chose Co make an
extraordinary appeal for it, to cast HIM
self and his political reputation Into the
scale, and to make an appeal 80 passion
ate that intense Interest conferred in the
vote to follow.
The opposition was In an awkward
predicament. If they complied with the
chancellor's request, they seemed to
yield to his eloquence and authority; If
they refused, they seemed f~sctious and
bent on offending the Oldest servant of
the empire. Perhaps they erred in
choosing the latter alternative. After
events will show. But for the present,
at least, Prince Bismarck can claim to
have been abused, sighted, almost in.
suited, and this position he stoops to
take. From n end of Germany to
the other there sppears to be a general
uprising of opinion in his favor, due to
the spread of the belief that he is a mar
tyr to prejudice.
We say ''appears'; perhaps, in view of
Bismarck admitted aptitude for intrigue,
1t Is not necessary to defend tho use of
this doubling word. The stir in the Ger
man press, the passing about of papers
for signatures, and of the hat for contri.
buttons, has about it the air of a pre-ar-
ranged '~'apontaneity" such as Americans
of q BiHmarckian cast of character have
have been known to contrive in the years
before presidential contests. In short,
either the German people have taken
leave of their usual senses, or else the
present reaction In favor of Bismarck Is
an extremely clever piece of political en-.
cheering.