Omaha daily bee., 1888-12-11
ENGL1SH-IRfSH AFFAIRS.
Some Interesting iieading % T. i.
O'COpuor's Pen.

New YoRR, Dee. 1O.-lSpecial Telegram to
THE BEE n. p. O,Connor's latest letter to
the World says 9TH London liberals are
holding their heads very high. They have had
a series of big victories in the elections for
school boards. In several districts the lib
eral candidates headed the polls by an cnor-
nous majority, and the party Of reaction has
been largely decreased. From this it is OK
pccted that the tide has ut last and definitely
turned in London against the tory party. If
we were to be as successful in the parlia-
mentary elections as .wc have been in the
school board, we should have nearly half the
entire representation, which would mean
thirty-five instead of ten votes, and if that
were the case the battle of home rule would
be decided. London plays at our general
elections a part not unlike that played by the
state of New York in presidential contests.
The liberals, if they are sweeping the coun-
try, can win without it, but their majority
would be small. If a victory in London be
added to a victory in the other parts of the
country, then the liberal party comes in with
a crushing majority.
Mr.. Balfour looks worry thin since his re-
cent illness and has boon unusually mild in
state of speech. He has more than once la
boriously apOlogized to Irish members for
language at which they took o%ffense..
/ heard last night right from
some people who know him well,
some curious particulars with regard to his
private life. All unite in saying that per-
sonally and socially he is the most delight
full of men. He is simply adored by the
of them who would not readily pick up his
handkerchief. His heart, however, is still
untouched, or touched only with a iieeting
and platonic affection for the wife of one of
hi. fNttRn .AllNnrtYAH OF tshNuA nnrA, hA
was sad to once have been. He is a very
lazy man, stops in bed a great part of every
day, and rarely reads the newspapers. Some
months ago we were all very much excited
ford election. < tory mot Balforur
the day after Its result Was announced
and he did not even yet know it. He never
pays any attention to the details OF his de-
partmcnt and has not been two months in
Ireland altogether. He simply tells the
officials to go ahead, gives them an absolutely
free hand, aud then defends everything they
do through thick and thin. At the present
moment Balfour is more powerful than his
party. Salisbury, by the fact of being in tho
house of lords, is effaced, and he never did
care to keep himself much in touch with the
rank and file of the party. He spends most
of the time at his country seat. Salisbury's
chief delight in life is his laboratory,
where he works nearly every day of his life.
There remains one great card LETT for the
unionists in case this government should
break down. Lord Harrington has been
offered the premiership twice, and has twice
refused. But the refusal Of the greatest po-
sition an Englishman can hold went sorely
against his grain. Harrington, like a great
many Englishmen, is a bundle of contradic-
tons and atfectations. He sits in the house
of commons with his legs stretched to the
furthermost length, his hat over his eyes, his
under lip protruding, his hands immersed in
the very profOundest depths of his breeches'
pockets, and he gives you the idea of a
man who most of the time is
wholly or half asleep. His speeches
are always ~phlegmatic and generally
he has what an American once happily de-
scribed as "a you,he-d--d air" But I'M
der this his intimates declare be has ambition
Just as keen as any other man i'll the house
of commons. wD
There are indications that there is going to
be a renewed outbreak of the fierce coercion
plan of campaign. Instead of being suDduei,
1t RACES more frequently and stronger than
ever. Balfour is undoubtedly seriously dis
turbed by the incessant vitality OF the Ma
tionai league, and Is preparing for another
big pounce. At least several Irish member
are already summoned and there is talk of
several more. Coercion is a porilous policy
after all. 1t is always liable to awkward ac-
cidents, and an awkward accident is a most
potent as 1t is a most unexpected factor in
political struggles.