New-York tribune., 1886-08-24
CABINET MAKING,
THE CONFLICT-LORD RANDOLPH CHURCH
ILLS TRIUMPH.

| ter number for Cabinet than thirteen. and
| so they predict long life TO Lord Salisbury's
| Government; perhaps forgetting that Mr..
Gladstone also formed a Cabinet Of fourteen.
| Practical politicians of opinion that twelve
| or even ten would be the better number. Lord
Beaconsfeld thonght so but his Cabinet of 1874
was Cabinet of twelve. Lord Salisbury has now
| improved on his performance Of last year. when he
sat round the board of green cloth with fifteen
colleagues His enemies who wish to find
| unucky number for him may now say that his
| colleagues number thirteen
| or the last Cabinet three members are missing
| and three only. The Earl of Harrowby. then Lord
| Priyy Seal retires from III health The Duke OF
| Richmond retires. No one has satisfactorily ex-
| planned why 1t Is not so very long since he was
| talked of as probable Prime Minister-a figure
| head Prime Minister, q nineteenth century Duke
of Devonshire or Duke of Grafton but still Prime
Minister Now not ey Cabinet post for him.
He has the favor Of the Queen and the respect OF
the public but he has ceased to be indispensable.
IL Indispensable he ever were. l afraid it
must be said he is hardly missed. The third
absentee is the Earl of Carnarvon- He. like Lord
Harrowby is said to withdraw from the pressure
of Cabinet duties on account of i-health. But
there are posts of dignifed ease which impose no
toll on their occupants and no heavier responsible
ity in council than they care to assume The
Duchy of Lancaster the Lord Presidency of the
Councl the Lord Prvy Seal, are posts OF that
character Tho true reason for Lord Carnarvon's
abstention is not known but it pretty certainly has
something to do with Home Rule. He was Home
Rule Vceroy and his reappearance in the Govern
ment would hardly have been agreeable to the Irish
Ioyalsts 1t would have created difficulties for
Lord Salisbury. and Lord Salisbury has had diff
culties enough without stepping aside to seek them
Lord Salisbury has in fact been nfrontedswith
obstacles of formidable kind from the first day
when he set about forming a Cabinet. 1t is the
fashion here to treat the conflict as one or
| personal claims. 1t Is something more than that
| The Tory party has been for long time in state
of transition. Almost without knowing it. tho
party saw its principles and maxims profoundly
modified by Mr.. Disraeli. Lord Randolph
Churchill took up tho educating process where
Lord Beaconsfeld had left it, lie invented the
phrase Tory Democrat. He saw that the old Tory
Ism was thing of tho past and for years he has
tried to bring the old organization into booming
with the new order Of things. Mr.. Dsrae dis
covered Some of used to say invented, but we
were wrong) the Conservative workngman. Lord
Randolph has pIofted by the discovery developed
it, proclaimed it the housetops The Reform
bill of '67 made the workngman master OF Eng
land The Reform bill OF 80 divided their soyer-
eighty between him and the agricultural laborer.
1t Is LORD hanQOpns lneTlt tndt no ieCos"iIeu
this fact and steove to make his party recognize it,
He undertook to popularze, to democratize, the
Tory party He discovered the masses before Mr..
Gladstone did He discovered another thing, aud
here it is that he advanced beyond his great prede.
cessor-I mean Lord Beaconsfeld. Lord Randolph
saw that the change of doctrine and attitude which
he thought essential to Tory success demanded
change of leadership, 1t was, in his judgment,
hopeless to fight under such chiefs as Sir stafford
Northcote and his principal colleagues on the front
bench. Hence the effort of last year which ended
in the exile of Sir Stafford Norhcote TO the House
of Lords The effort succeeded in part only and
has now been renewed-whether with partial or
complete success is disputed But it is this stub
borriness of Lord Randolph Churchill or the reyo-
lutonary path he has marked out for himself
which has been the real cause of the prolonged
Cabinet crisis now over.
As for Lord Randolph's own position and the sup
posed conflict between him and Sir Michael Hicks
Beach, there are two stories have gwen you the
substance of them before and pass on with the
remark that whether Sir Michael did or did noS
wish TO retain the nominal leadership OF tne House
of Commons matters comparatively little. Inc
real leadership was before. it Is now. with Lord
Randolpb and IL is better the title should go with
the power The struggle, If there were one was
soon over and there is no reason to DOUBT that on
this point Salisbury and Lord Randolph Churchill
| were of one mind.
Next came the Home Office question The moment
the new leader had secured his own position, bis
voice became potent than ever In the selection
of those who were to be his colleagues in the lower
House Next after Sir Stafford Northcote the mau
most odious to him-I mean in political seuse-
was Sir Richard Cross. Home Secretary in the last
two Conservative Ministries Him Lord Randolph
| was resolved to be rid Of He had candidate
ready. a wholly new man, Mr. Henry Matthews, q,
| c. and he presented him to Lord Salisbury as the
first Tory whom Birmingham had chosen for forty
years The halo of success in the Dixie case sat
on his brow A barrister in ordinary circum-
| stances would have hestated to renounco tho
practice of his profession on the morrow OF tri-
nmph which was likely to double his income But
Mr.. Henry Matthews happens to have an ample
private fortune. lie well afford to accept pub
lie Office to which is attached salary of $4,000
wear Lord Randolph must have explained to Lord
| Salisbury why he chose Mr. Matthews for this
exalted Office but the public has not been taken
| into his confidence and remains puzzled but hopes
| for the best-knows, at any rate, that he Is an
| able man.
No doubt the surprise was one thing that
wanted To turn put Sir Richard Cross aud put IN
some other member of the last Cabinet, would have
been far less stri king coup than this.
Lord Randolphs theory was that the late Home
Secretary should De consolcd. like Sir Stafford
Northcoto. with peerage. but not like Sir Stafford
In his butterfly spiendor-l mean his peers robes
with another Office Perhaps he did not greatly
care whether Sir Richard got the Office or not SO
long as his absence from the Commons was secured
Against both exclusion from the Commons and
exclusion from the Cabinet Sir Richard fought with
an obstinate courage worthy Of admiration ltis now
said that he insisted on the india Office for the
| nville insisfpu last
mer on the Colonial Office. Times are hard and
the yearly salary to each of these dgnilied posts
is s35 900. The Queen herself came to Sir Richards
rescnn She has ALWAYS liked him-pOsslby be-