New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-15

unloaded under police protection. Meanwhile there
is months stock on hand.
The conspicuous exception above mentioned TO
the general ill-success of the weeks strikes actual
or threatened, is the coal.porters strike They al
legged that the coal merchants had promised, ex-
preSSy or tacity, rise in wages, and that some
firms refused TO execute the agreement. Probably
the real origin of the strike rather of the threat
to strike, the wish of the unionist officials to
help their brother unionsts in their conflict with
the gas company. 1t is difficult TO discover from
the Goa -porters' manilestoes what they ground
their grievances They do not handle the pen
as skilfuly as they do the shovel. Their ad.
dresses to the public are verbose. confused, angry
and even abusive However, London found IL
self threatened by coal famine.
What these men proposed was nothing
| less than &c close every coa]yard in London and
to stop all delivery of coal for public or private
| use Londoners, whose civic courage is slight,
took alarm conference arranged advis-
! ers were called in, a meeting was held, and Car
dinal Manning once more fitted ominously to the
front. What is called compromise was ar
ranged-a compromise which comedies nearly
everything to the men. 1t grants them the full
| advance of wages which they claimed and still
allows them to strike as against the South Met
| ropolitan.
The state of Mr.. Parnels health need not give
rise to fresh anxiety among his American friends.
When he pleaded sudden indisposition in excuse for
breaking his Nottingham engagement his indspos
tion supposed to be political. He explains
that he had caught a chill but is better, and will
speak next week He might well hold himself
! justified in avoiding the platform for the public
mind is turned away from Ireland. Nothing on
| one side the other seems at the moment to
| awaken general interest. Not even the clrcum-
stantial account of the bafed attempt to use dyna
mite against the police who were engaged IN
cvictions at Woodford, has stirred up much anger.
! The attempt is of course, denied. The death of
Captain Pmnlet, victim of mob violence eicits
sympathy, but nothing more. The tragedy IN
! Tipperary seems but half understood. Mr. Smith
Barry's tenants in their effort. rather the
effort of the League, To ruin hlm
for his action in the Ponsonby estate
are clearly running themselves But such sym
pathy as they get seems to be altogether
political Mr.. Smith Barry is admittedly one OF
the kndcst, most just and generous of landlords
| His tenants had not complaint against him.
| Their rents were moderate, their wishes
were consulted, their comfort was CON
sdered and money freely spent by the
| landlord on the estate. But the League decrecd
that to join the PonSonby combination was a
| crime to be punished by strike; not wise pro-
cceding on their part, for Mr.. Smith Barry would
| still be rich man if he lost every shilling OF
| Irish rent But the struggle goes on. canon
Keller was to start an Irish crusade on English
platforms in aid of this and other League projects,
but the period of the year is not thought pro-
| pitious and il has been discovered that Canon
! Kecr's parochial duties require his exclusive
attention.
4 really important item in Irish news if true, Is
a report, based probably on Lord Sallsburys re-
cent speeches, that scheme for IRISH land pur-
chase will be tried on great scale lhe CaDlhet
is said now TO have taken this decision, which
is clearly step backward.
The verdict of the press the new Gilbert
and Sullivan OPERA " 1he GondoiieTs Is prac-
! tically unanimous: 1t ranks of the most
successful of the whole series. The book, the
music and the mounting are alike applauded.
Lord Tennysons Demeter and Other Poems
meets with respectful reception, but IT is felt 10
contain an undue proportion of verses which the
world would willingly have let die before they
saw the light. They there, remarks one
friendly reviewer 10 show how great poet may
stoop to the level of his interiors; None the less
does Lord Tennyson's wide public discoN er with
even fresh surprise how much passion there stall
! is in the old man, how eagerly he takes part IN
new controversies, how perfect is still his mastery
over all the mysteries OF metIe, and how many
spring flowers bloom amid the SHOWS of winter
Mr. Brownngs death became known late on
Thursday evening by private dispatch communl-
Gated TO " The Times so that The Times
alone published the news of II on Friday morn
inc EvarybCdv is struck with the double coin
cidence of volumes in the same week from Mt
Browning and Lord Tennyson, followed by the
death Of the younger of the two poets. The
rcvew Of Lord Tennyson's Demeter' in The
Times stands next TO the re view of Mr.. Brown
ings lfe.
If would be far too much to say that recent
years have lessened the strength of that English
criticism of Mr. Brownings poetry which Is hostile
to him on purely poetic grounds. 1t mas grown !
stronger as the admiration for him has grown
stronger. There two parties, or SCHOOLS ana
neither will cOncede anything TO the otheh
Browning societies have been founded here, as i'll
America though their number, and perhaps thelr
enthusiasm, is less. His popularity has widened
and the circulation Of his poems has doubled WIN
in five years. and his publisher prints twice as many
copies of each new volume. Justice has been done
TO his great qualities. even by those VINO 90 ho'
tbinl, tlat the net result of them all always !
took the form of poetry. Men recoghlzeu inc
scope of his genius the variety of his gifts his
vgor, his extraordinary power of analysis his
subtletv as "A psychologist, his profoundly religious
mood his fire his courage his stanchneSs to ms |
own ideals while they still deplored the splendid |
perversity of his conception of poetic lorn' but !
whatever difference of mere critical opinion lhefe
NAV have been, they are al merged IN general
sorrow for the death of man whom an ule /
world profoundly respected ana al Ms
friends profoundly loved. Few men
wore better known in London or
moro often seen in London society. None were
,,ore welcome. none had more admirable social
oif,s and none more loyal tenderness IN friend
hi, There is not one whose loss would be more
sincerely mourned. lie was still IN the full