Huntsville gazette., 1886-01-30
luRElGN GOSSIP.
Review of the Situation in the En-
glish Political Field.
The Irish Question Pushing Every thing
Else Aside--Lord Salisbury Likely to
Resign and Gladstone to be
Again at the Helm.

AGAIN at the Helm
| LONDON, Jan. 24.-Lord Salisbury is
tired of his attempt to govern the Brit
ish Empire with the Tory party, and
wishes to resign. 1t can be said ON next
to the highest authority that the Premier
expects to relinquish Office within the
next three weeks. Your correspondents
| informant says: 'Salisbury would like to
| settle the Irish question on a broad, lib
eral basis, but he can not do it with such
party as he has. His colleagues wish
him to crush the Irish. He can't bring
himself to do anything of the kind, and
| for this reason he will bring about
the defeat of the Government in order to
obtain a Justification for retiring from
power"
The minister, who gave this startling
piece of intelligence, was asked if he
knew what were the prime minister's
personal views on the Irish situation,
and he said: Lord Salisbury entertains
none Of the fears professed by the Con-
servatives, that, if Ireland had home rule,
the Irish would become practically Il hos
tile people. He admitted to me re-
Gently that he believed that the
only hostility ever entertained by
the people of Ireland toward
England could he entirely accounted for
by the coercive nature of lhe relations be-
tween the two countries. He went fur
ther, and said he was of the opinion that
if Ireland were made free she would
voluntarily seek even a closer relation
ship with England than the one now
maintained by force, and would become
most valuable and powerful ally, in
stead of being, as now, dissatisfied,
troublesome, rebellious and continuous
ly expensive province. Lord Salisbury
maintains that the very situation of
Ireland would make her freedom inure
eventually to England's advantage. This
situation he points out, differs from that
of Belgium and Switzerland in this That
whereas Belgium and Switzerland are
surrounded by powers all equally covet-
Gus Of their territory, ami therefore
equally interested in maintaining their in
dependence, Irciand's contiguity is con-
! fined to great Britain, and the intcrna-
tional interests of the two countries
would be Identical if they were neighbors
and not landlord and tenant
"Bnt," went on the minister. ''it must
he admitted that British parties, as re-
nected in Parliament, represent the COM
mercal and land interests rather than
those of the peasantry, although the en-
larsed franchise will undoubtedly change
this eventually. The land interest of
England thoroughly sympathizes with
hat of Ireland, partly from affinity and
also becansc the majority Of the Irish
landlords are EnglishmeD, resident in
Great Britain. But the land interest of
Great Britain, the greatest after it's COM
mercial interest, has nothing like cor
ect idea Of how insignificant minority
he landowners of Ireland are of it's
whole population, nor of the really for
ign nature of their proprietary. They
ave become convinced that Nationaiism
II Ireland Is identical with what COM
nunism would be in England, and of
curse they are easily aroused to fight it
lOwn.
"The Irish Tories understand how to
eep this English hostility alive, and they
manage to make nearly all the ordinary
'iolations of the law in Ireland appear to
Ingiishmen as crimes against property.
IS it happens that, while the number of
irreSts in Ireland, where the police are
numerous and alert, averages much great
than in England, where the officers OF
he law are not so plentiful nor so enter
rising, it appears to the Englishman
hat the Irish people spend most OF their
me attacking the vested rights, and he
thus kept pcrpetually disposed to rule
lem with an iron hand.n
When asked if there were no statesmen
II the Conservative party who knew bet
er the minister replied: ayes, Lord
salisbury is just as well informed on this
hole business as Mr.. Gladstone is, and,
n my opinion, just as well disposed"
"Well, then, why don't he settle it?n
because lie can't. His party COM
rises the bulk of the British land inter-
st. In this case that means the bulk of
he ignorance and prejudice which stand
.gainst fair settlement of the question,
md as the ignorant and prejudiced con-
titutc the majority of the English aris-
1ocracy, the most enlightened and liberal
sristocracy in the world, and the potent
clement of the Conservatory party, Lord
Salisbury, in an attempt to pass liberal
Measure, would simply be left without
party.
"Mr. Gladstone, however, does not
represent the aristocracy, but the busi-
ness men and peasantry of the nation. Ii
ne wishes to attempt settlement OF the
Irish question, in my opinion he can do
it, and will attempt it when the govern
ment abandons the work"
Every phase of the situation bears out
the prospect suggested by the above in
formant Lord Salisbury wrote the
Queens speech. 1t did not oppose home
rule, but opposed separation. The Irish
have not as yet asked for the latter or
even intimated that they ever would ask
for it, OF course, the majority of the
Tories believe that home rule and separa-
ton are identical, hence that paragraph
was simply political play upon their
prejudices. Mr. Gladstonc's address
during the evening of the Queens
speech was studiedly vague on
most things, but 1t was very
direct in reply to the Queens plea for the