New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-11-12
NOTES FROM SCOTLAND.
POLITICAL FEELITG-DISESTABL L
TIE CRCFTER QUESTION.

.i,e ooe ia tn tal1 ,oiili.s. sad hope 30 be eT-
cused from entering deeply ilt' political topics '.''
get back to London. Yet 81 atmosphere IL
Scotland is full II them AMI ths Scotch papers arc
fuller still It is impossible anywl'erc one 10 's-
cape them From the issue Of RiF' '''N'''"'
manifesto, Just month siacc, down TO CAe Pro''"v
,no,.eot The Mace has been alive with politics.
reached Ediuburgh in tie afternoon OF HoPte'""''
IS having travelled since early mornIhg from Il
lonely syot in tie widest part of Yorkshire had
read All the Leeds and Yale ana Newcastle papers
and tAen all the London papers Of the -aaa h''h-
ing which met at Darlington. Then M" s'"'e
to slceo m the conviction that | knew all nan
ought to know If tie news OF tla'
dav As | stepped ont on the EiIhonr-n
platform met IL wile-lwake American lrena VIM
cried out what do you think of the manl1eSto'
"What mamfcsto?" Mt Gladstones oil course.
You don't mean to say YOU have not real III III
hal appeared in full in The Sc1!endn OF thaJ lh'i"
ineali ~ no Lon.eu paper whatsoever. one u
the chief Manchester papers, however, had H. ana
n locked rs if Nv Gladstone had been CARVING Ia
to ,r,ctice his well-kAown Ileas Of the superior
irnortopce If the PROVINCIAL to the mctroDoil'ai
journals | heard sono days later that the NaH-
chester C litor got holl Of ii by some form ot en-
tegprise." without Mr.. Glalstone's knowledge ana
much TO tis Vexation. What he had meant was
10 address his constituent; OF Midlothian thio"E"
then Liberal organ and Trough 1t alone he MAJ"
,festo was instead of speech and hence its other
wise pTeposterOus length London got u III P'i'-
phlet shape in the course of the daj. AID prompy
toIecranhcd the whole to Edinburgh an uaih-
tended Joke which FdmburgE enjoyed. Tue Lon
dol editors were | presume, not well pieaSed "t
having been foreStael, but they 'enSlDP Aep'
their yexatiou 10 themselves. ana rnD'lS"t' 'H'
manifesto next morning with due edltorla' co"'-
mcnt as if nothing had happened. Ihcir reaue'S
do rot know to this hour that they had not ''o
earliest reading Of Tie document.
Well, as was saving. pelitlcs have blaZe" ou'
fcTcely all over Scotland ever since the member or
Midlothian sent out this fiery cross. III merry seems
a strong word to apply to such moderate perform
auce LEFT us sneak of it respectfully as glowing
with the mild radiance OF sweet reaSonableheSs
Or call If safety match, but call it what Won WILL
it set scotland ahame. Nobody admires more thah
Dc the Scottish intelligence, and have eXpIeSNea
nv admiration to you often enough. admire per-
baps not less the capacity of this clear-heaaed ana
deeply earnest people for taking serious view o.
n situation which has, If | may say So MS comic
side For what, after all do all TINS ueat anu
fury signify There are meetings in every borough
and every division of every city and county ana
every constituency of whatever kind from WICK TO
Port Patrick. There is genuine exc tenent. Nah-
didates make long and fervent speeches, and sub
nit as they must to That per'lnaclOuS crosS'eNam-
iDat,o Oh all sorts Of subjects which here goes by
the name of heckllng. All these exploits are re-
ported with minute fulncss IN all the ;otch papers
and the most Jealous editorial discussion, often
able. accompanies them. And YET, every man Oh
both sides knows perfectly we'll that the whole
thing has a foregoue conclusion Scotland III any
conceivable event will retura an enormous Llperal
majority. The constituencies in which any
Tory candidate mas any chance whatever can
II
there IS really as our Mississippi friends would say
emo money up" yet the game is PLAYED 10 the end
with the same intentness and the same interest as
little fortunes Of tho country the parry were ut
stake.
This was cxplicaLle enough 50 long as uval
Liberal candidates were woping he same c3notIt-
uencv b Il the cand dates are now chosen, and
wherever Il Tory has ventured TO come i"IWar he
and ms liberal foe are hewIng and hacking a each
other rs if with claymsre and hroaisword III the
god old days when the political disputes OF
the Scotch were settled ont Of hand by
those convenient weapons. 1t il to he said
moreover. thai two issues of particular moment 10
tbe,nselves are before the Scotch people: Discs
tabllshmeat and the Crofter question. On the
former the Liberal party is rent aSurd"r: on the
latte~ it is not united and either OF them contains
material enough for PROLONGED and angry con-
test Id,nt q =, YOU to follow me into either, bur
auilc.tlc IT occurs TO me in connection with BON
which will not take much of Your time or lead me
into those serlou, politics which hqvo forsworu
for Tie present.
heard two debates on the DsrstabiSh-
mont Of the Established Church of Scotland at the
meetings of the General Assemblies Of the Esta'-
hshod and Free Churches in Edin-
burrh last May. They were not
really debates. because in each assembly
there was practically but one party All the
Established Church speakers were against Dis
establishment all the Free Church speakers were
for il. Their meetings were held on opposite sides
of the same street Oh successive days. could not
but think how much more useful their discussions
would have been had they mingled the two in one
building. This il an idea which would not advise
anyb. dy to breach in the presence of the delegates
TO either BODY and admit that if it were acted ON,
prudence wo Id insist on strong barrier between
the tyo not less strong than the table which Mr..
Dlsrlcli once sad he was glad to sec between
himself and Mr. Gladstone while The lattcr WAS
speaking.
Two things impressed me in these
debates The Established Church delegates
spoke with Tho bitterness Of mon who
are identified with Il losing cause. The
Free Church men were comparatively mcder-
ate; willing to wait; certain If ultimate victory
some Of them even ready for a con'r"miSe with
IN IT dtNcrSarlcS, OF lot some S''t 81 codIiI'l'
were that possible, against tho common enemy.
By tho com nol enemy mean the devil. But in
the Established Assembly Old man, Dr. Gun
nngbam, / Tank, spoke out clearly and briefly the
sense and real purpose and feeling Of that numer-
Gus all very explosive boiy. He referred to the
attitude Of the Liberal party IN Scotland toward
the Established Church, with sort of half adms-
sion e what is believe whole truth, that the
majority Of the Liberals are for establishment,
for n. If so. crcd Dr. Cunningham, IN
trem ,Ious and passionate tones winch his gcay
hair made pathctic,-"if 50, if have o. choose
between my party and my church, |. who nave all