New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-11-19
THE ENGLISH ELECTIONS.
WHEN AND HOW TO BE HELD-DISESTAB-
rcII,1r VI pEEORN 0G TuE HOUSES.

families which ought never to have eXlsleu' lho
want of a fixed date for general e!ecuoh Is o"o
of the many anomalies OF the EngilSh e'ec'o'"i
system. The MInstry IN power may appoint "n''
date they please. That Is TO say they heeu ho'
dissolve Parliament until they see nj. Loiu oalS'
bury however had pledged himself, In MS open
inc statement 10 the House Of Lords on assuming
office that the election should be held at the earl
est posi- e period He fixed 1t approximately for
November II. Two months ago the Liberals
started rumor that he would postpone The DIS
solution on the ground tn the necessary formal
tiles under the new act could nos BIS completed
by tie date he had first mentioned There was
never, believe any foundation for TINS sIoiy' puV
it made good many people uncomfortable ior the
time being. They lad made arrangements on INC
theory that the Ministry would abide DIV tner
pledge. EIectioneering had begun about OCTOBER
l. TO prOlou9 1t over the holidays anu lhU HoA'
January would have been intolerabe.
Still. there is the fact that Lord salisbury might
hive mt off the elections had he chosen. The peo-
nile of England had 10 power in the matter. 1t Is
conseouencs of the system under which Parliament
makes and unriakes Ministries that Ministries
should have this power. Ministry nav be beaten
on a vital question at any moment III TIE HOUSE u
Commons If beaten. they must resign
or dissolve. and the dissolution may be
eprlier OF lltor according to cTcunstance''
But this is q case more unuSual-a case OF d Al!-
jstry holding office On sulferance 80 Ong as Parma
plent was in session. The new Franchise act had
been passed. new elect II ate had come into power
n, appeal to the old constituencies was admittedly
oat of the question. and Lord Salisbury held Oh
under az implicit obligation to appeal TO the coun-
try as soon as election could be held. III " had
chosen to say that the fornaitics OF registration
and revision OF tho electoral lists could not be COM
pleted before January tAecOuntry would have mad
to submit. But the voters would have had tHeiI
revenge
When Parliament has once been dissolved, the
procedure is regulated bv statute. though
ANYTHING but what should think
symmetrical Wrts for new elections
are sent by pest to the proper officers IN each elec-
ton district The officer in each borough at once
Issues notice to the constituency. lie may delay
Ii day or two, but not longer. The ceremony 81
nominating candi iaos follows within three or four
DAYS and the election itsoit caunot be postponed
LONGER than -hrce DAYS after tho nomination. IL
follows from all his that most of the borough
elections Will be held during the we,k following
the dissolution. The 18th November falls on
Wednesday; the wits will be sent down the same
night; will be received in st boroughs OF Thurs
dav; notice will he gwen Oh Friday; nominations
will be made on Mon lay or Tuesday;
the ballots will take place by FIJI
dav at latest. aud by Saturday.
November 26 the result of the borough elections
will DO known They will, not all be held on
the same dav, and that again Is an lncIieTt OF the
E1gllsh system of which we have seen the mis-
chief and of which we have got rid The large
aud respectable number of voters who worship the
Jumping cat have every opportunity u follow the
movement of that interesting animal II tho first
returns indicate strong current of Liberalism or
TOrylsm the current is pretty surely swollen as 1t
moves on, and the last elections are as rule
greatly influenced by the first.
Ii is agreed on all hands that the Disestablish-
ment of the Church of England Is not III Issue at
tins coming election. Mr.. Gladstone did not IN
clule it III his programme. nor does Mr.. Chamber
lam in his. The Radicals whom Mr.. Chamberlain
leads are for it, but they are aware that the num-
Der of great questions which can be pressed for
ward at the same time 49, after all, limited, and
they spare the Church for the present The discs
Enlistment of the land, OF tho landlord, and OF the
wealthy classes in general, is an enterprise snf-
fcicnt to give Mr.. Chamberlain and his
cohorts full occupation for some months 10 come.
What then is the meaning of the discussion 10
which The Times opens its columns I That journal
is a great Church organ. Mr. Walter IS Church
man of the most intense kind. 1t is understood
that he directs the of the paper on Church
questions aud ii is presumably Mr.. Walter himself
whom the Church has 10 thank for the unwonted
He is publishing avast deal Of correspondence; OF
letters fer and against the Church, some of them
able, but all of them damaging to the cause he has
at heart. There NAV be some ecclesiastical purpose
III this which escapes the lay mind Those who
are not Churchmen would oppose Churchmen only
too Glad to leave the question alOle.-tO let sleep
ing dogs lie The mOIc diseStabhsamcnt is debated.
the sooner will 1t be accomplished. 1t is but
question Of time.
Ia Scotland, however the question of disestab
lishment has come with a rush The more moderate
Liberals were willing to postpone it. tor in Scot
lard, rs III England, the Surrounded think that
the merely secular issues already raiscl quite
numerous enough for campallI But there
inmoderate Liberals. SOme of them Free
Church Radicals. Some of them are Chnrchmen Of
the Establishment The Free Church Ra1i cals.
with Professor Callerw1ol and Mr. Taylor lines
at their hcad captured the Conference OF Liberal
Associations at Keith fortnight ago. They broke
through the tacit uDd rstanling which had
hitherto prevailed among Scottish Liberals.
They put aside tho counsel in which
Mr.. Gladstone aud Mr.. Chamberlain had joined.
They induced the Conference to pass resolution
making diseStabshnent of the Established
Church Of Scotland plank in the Liberal plat
form. This is their own language, and YOU will
note the extent to which the Scottish dialsct has
become AmercaHized
To the outsider unanimous resolution OF the
united Liberal Associations of Scotland inghtsce
decisive II appears on the face of it to commit the
Liberal party to the advocacy of Immediate discs
tablisbment But Scotch politics not like other
politics You must be a Se0tchman III order 10
understand this fully, and You must be i'll Scot
land, or at least, must read Scotch papers,
in order 10 understand them at all! There
is one authoritative organ of Scotch Liberalism,
The Scotsman. to which turred. only to learn that
the so called Liberal Associs of Scotland do not.
in fact, represent the Liberal party of Scotland,
and that the party would not do their bidding i'll
this matter of disestablishmeat. THIS seemed 10
themore conclusive because this journal is itself
IN favor Of disestablishment policy. 1t is, how
aver OuDOSeu tn making ba ouAstioo a test one ~