The Indianapolis journal., 1886-02-07
!ENGLAND'S TRADE DECLINE.
IOndOn's Streets Full of Beggars and
Workingmen Out Of Employment.
THE Effects of Free Trade at It's Best-The
Irish Question in PoIitics-Mr. Stead
and His Editorial Work for Purity.


Correspondence of the indianapolis Journas.
LONDON, Jan. 28 IA conspiracy maintained
with foreign money" and treason organized
and supported in America" are comments that
are beginning to crop up once more in conversa-
tson, and in letters and editorials that appear in
the press. There are many things said and done
by the Parneliites in America which are cabled
to England of which the United States knows
little or nothing. IF we permitted in Eogland
: what you allow in America" writes a CORE
spondent to me, what would you doP So many
Of my correspondents believe that am an Ameri-
can, that sometimes half wonder whether am
or not and if not why not. "Well," answered
syou know America thinks you did all that
during the war Of North and South
that is. you sympathized with the rebels
who tried to dismember the Union" Of course
the cases are not parallel, and England made
some recompense for the madness and folly of q
section of her people who. wirh Gladstone at
their head, were willing to believe that the South
had earned the right to be acknowledged as q
nation. But just as the South hoped to get the
assistance Of England in their war with the
North, so large population in Ireland hope to
enlist the active aid Of the United States in
breaking up the Anglo-Irish union. What
sensitive English politicians and statesmen COM
plain of already is that an agitation, which is to
all intents and purposes rebellion, is fostered,
encouraged and applauded by American organi
zations, in American cities, and supported in
American newspapers. Some time before Gen.
Grant died had the honor of talking to him on
the subject of the Irish question from an Anglo
American point of view. Among other things
which he said to me was his expression of sur
prise that England wanted America to
do what she did not attempt in her
own land. There is rs much socalled treason
spoken in England and as many rebellious meet
ings held iii England as here; why don't England
begin her work of putting down the conspiracy
at homel Whenever England can show that
American citizens are abusing their rights Of
citizenship against her, friendly country, then
Washington would be bound to interfere" This
still to be the essence of the situation, so
far as England and America are concerned.
General Grant was a practically wise man. he
did not try to convert a simple thought into
speech, clean square judgment into a judicial
argument The trouble about legislative busi
ness here is the talk about it Action comes at
the last moment instead of the first. II FIVE
years ago the English Parliament had given Ire
lard what she Is ready to give her now, local
self-government by county or other board under
Irish officials, Ireland would have been as pros
porous to-day as she is poor as contented, prob
ably, as she is rebellious. "All men are wise
after the event. Mr.. Gladstone is generally
affairs have advanced. Perhaps this is why he
ds now ready and willing to accept the hurculean
task of solving the Irish problem.
We are having an unusually bitter winter, and
there is terrible distress in most of our industrial
veenters. No sooner has one heavy snow melted
than another falls. While write, London, hav-
6Hg at last got rid of the blocks of the last
two weeks, is once more white world. The
parks, squares and suburbs are pictures OF win
Ter that recall pictures of 'old English winters"
but all this means to the poor an awful increase
of suffering. have never known the London
streets so full of beggars as they are now.
never received so many appeals by letter or 9TH
eFwise for help. The trade of the country goes
from bad to worse In Sunderland families of
working people are suffering the pinch of want
even to starvation Everywhere men are work
ing at lower wages than they have made for
years and while all around our export trade is
many. Belgium France America, are in
creasing. Our iron trade, manu-
factured and manufactured. is shrink
ing. our farmers are being ruined. land is
going down in price month by month, and year
by year; and the outlook has no gleam of light in
it. A great deal of this trouble could be correct
ed by moderate revision of the tariff and a tax
alton of luxuries from abroad; but the free-trad-
ers stand to their guns, and will do so, say,
tll they are blown to pieces Free trade is
British fetish, so dear to the national heart that
the head is not factor in the matter. Mr.. Rus
kin has recentlv been quoted as a stanch free
Srader. upon which Vanity Fair (even society
papers are beginning to discuss fiscal questions)
hunts up the following extract from Ruskin's
opinion in Unto This Last"
Let other nations if they like, keep their
ports shut; every wise nation will throw it's own
open. 1t Is not the opening them but q sudden,
1nconsiderate and blunderngly experimental
manner of opening them which does harm. If
you have been protecting a manufacture for q
aong series of years. you must not take the pro-
1ection off in moment as to throw every one
of its operatives at once out of employ, any more
than you must take all its wrappings off feeble
child gs once in cold weather. though the cum
Der of them may have been radically injuring
Its health Little by little you must restore it
20 freedom and to air. Exchange should be as
frank and free as honesty and the sea winds can
make it.p
IF America wanted an argument for a moder-
ate protection of certain industries hereit is. If
England desires to contemplate one of the holes
IN the great sieve of her vanishing trade, she
should go to the port of Harwich where the
wrought iron comes in from Belgium and Ger
many. Thousands of tons come into this free
English port every week. most of the stuff
stamped with English brands to be sold ia
English markets. On the other hand, every
thing we send to the other side is met at the for
eign ports with duties that range from Is to $50
per cent And in the north extra police have
had to be sworn in to protect the bread shops
from the starving crowds of iron workers out of
employment Something wrong about this,
Hhp
Mr.. Stead is once more free man. Afervent
Rnxiouslooking, excitable person, he has the
bearing of martyr who likes it He is a man
of undoubted ability. All the time he was in,
prison he wrote the principal editorial of the
Pail Mall Gazette. Yates, when he
was IN the same JAIL tried to do q
drst two contributions to the World while he
was IN durance vile were bright and daring, with
a touch Of bravado in them and some rancor
against the plaintiff in the suit that led to his
discontinue: But he Is not as young as Stead.
and ne had for some years lived in more luxu-
rious fashion than his sensational contemporarv
Yates went into nrison In good health and nndar