Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-11-13
English Politics.
The Irish Question Gives Way
to the Religious QUESTION in
British Politics.
The All-preyailiRg Issue now is
the Disestablishment of the
Church.
Stead is Found Guilty by the
Jury.

Jury.
Gable News.
THE RELIGIOUS QUESTION IN BRITISH
POLITICS
LONDON, Nov. 10.-The Irish ques
ton has for moment gwen way to
the religious question in British poll
tics. Parneil is permitted to go on
arranging his campaign and Romin-
ating his candidates in Ireland pretty
much as he pleases while voters in
England and Scotland are set by the
ears over the question of disestablish-
ing the Church. The controversy
has become exceedingly bitter. 1t
has been described as the combat" of
the established church fighting for
life against the aissenters struggling
to destroy the state monopoly of re-
igion.
:. Everybody is Great Britain has be-
come deeply interested in the contest,
and it is now thought that the result
of the elections will hinge entirely
on the church question alone. The
epgrossing Impotence of this cam
paign of the disestablishment is due to
the opening of the contest. The lead
ers on both sides acted as if they
thought that the campaign would be
fought on the question of the foreign
policy. 1t was soon found, however,
that the conservatives, having nothing
better to offer on this issue than their
predecessors IN office. would soon go
to pieces in political struggle based
on that question, and the campaign
was shifted to Irish matters. On these
the torres got the better of the liberals
and secured coalition with the home
rulers, while the liberals had chance
of utilization with the Parnellites,
they comparatively ignored the radi-
Gals. The latter therefore
OPENED A CAMPAIGN
on their own account and they made
the promise to work for the disestab
lishment as the important pledges in
their platform When Gladstone and
his liberal colleagues were aroused by
me detection of the Parnellites to the
necessity of securing a closer union
with the radicals, the latter had rais>
ed the issue of establishment to
such prominence that it could not be
removed from controversy. Glad
stone was compelled, therefore, in Sc
curing an alliance with the radicals
to leave such radical and liberal cam
didates as were already in nomination
free to remain steadfast to their
pledges. So many of these candidates
had pledged themselves to disestab~
liskment that the conservatives forced
the question to the front and arrayed
themselves unitcdly in favor of the
established church. They derived
immense assistance from the Catholic
clergy of Great Britain. headed by
Cardinal Newman.
The more prominent British Catho-
lie prelates joined the conservatives
in defending the church, taking the
ground that any religion was better
than no religion; that the established
church was one of England's greatest
bulwarks against immortality, and that
to save it from destruction was NOR
al duty. This served but to cement
the union between the Catholic home
rulers and the conservatives, and to
make the whole question of prime i'm
portance. The conservative leaders
were inspired to renewed activity, and
they have succeeded in SO forcing the
6ght that the people of Great Britain
ARE TO NIGHT THOROUGHLY AROUSED
AND DIVIDED
on this exciting religious principle,
and every clergyman las become for
the time a bitterly partisan politician
on one of the two sides of the controS
versy. The conservatives and liberals
are now doing their utmost to get the
question removed from the canvass.
The liberal associations are every
where attempting to discard it from
the programme of their party. 1t is
more than probable, however, that the
practical recognition of their mistake
has come too late. This statement is
not meant to convey the idea that the
tories and Parnellites combined will
beat the liberals and radicals in the
number of candidates they will elect
to the next parliament. As the mat
ter stands, the liberals will probably
have the greater number, but the tory
party has declared its intention to re-
main in power unless they are defeat~
ed by so large majority as to indicate
an overwhelming public expression In
favor of their retirement. Unless
Gladstone can succeed in diminishing
the advantages which the tories have
at present in the religious issue, it will
be difficult if not impossible for him
to secure majority large enough in
the next parliament to permit of his
restoration to power.
THE DIFFICULTIES
which lie in his way may be seen by
the following facts:
OF the thousand or more liberal
candidates in the field in Great Brit,
ain, 4S0 are pledged to favor disestab-
lishment. The constituencies con-
tested by these candidates will nearly
all insist on their fidelity to the pledge.
In Scotland the embarrassments
which lie in the ex premier's way are
particularly great One thousand,
four hundred and seventy dissenting
Scotch clergymen have signed an adj
dress to him declaring that they look
to him to overthrow the state church.
In this remarkable political address
these Scotch ministers declare the time
has come 10 sever the relations BE-
tween the church and the state Dis.
senting Christians have refrained too
long from making this contest and We
Rew insist that the coming parliament
will terminate the unjust and injuri-
Gus connection.