Omaha daily bee., 1890-02-22
OTHER LANDS THAN OURS.

The remedies for the complaints of the
labor interests proposed by the British radi-
calls are as trenchant and decisive as the
grievances of which they complain are fla
grant. Plural suffrage must be done away
with. One man one vote must be the princl-
Pile. A vote must everywhere have the same
weight. In alllodalities the same volume of
population mustibs exacted for the privilege
of returning a member of parliament. The
registration laws must be so modified that
workmen shall not he DISTINGUISHED because
they have 20 change their residence in
search OF work. The last vestige of property
qualification must be swept away The suf-
frage must be conceded to ever adult male.
The cost of parliamentary elections must
be borne by the state, and members of par
Lament must receive a fair remuneration for
the devotion of their time and their abilities
to the public service. The supreme will of
the people must be called into play more fire..
quently. The constitutional duration of a
| parliament must not. exceed three, years. Be.
yond aIdoubt, the radicals are the prospect
tive masters of the United Kingdom. Every
one of the reforms above enumerated IS
destined To be carried out. They are in the
air. They are written on the wall. And
when, by virtue of such sweeping innova-
tious, the radicals have gained control of the
house of commons, they will deal as they
| please with the obstructive and decorative
features of the British constitution.
The part that Belgium might play in case
of a war between Franco and Germany is n
matter Of interesting speculation. In the
opinion of an ex-oficnr of the Belgian army
both covers would select Belgium as their
battle ground. With its base on Cologne a
German army could pass through Belgium,
gain the valley of the Ouse, get behind the
Meuse, aud turn the powerful lines OF de-
Tense which lie French have constructed
along their eastern frontier; but by violating
Belgian neutrality the Germans would give
to the French at the opening of the campaign
the moral sympathy Of England-settlng
aside any question Of material support
which the publication of the Benedetti
treaty withdrew from France in 1870. There
is really only one direct line of railway lead
ing into Belgium from German territory,
namely, the line from Cologne, which passes
through Aix.la -Chapelle and Liege; and the
latter place is now being fortified by Belgium
on a modern scale. The Belgian army, it
must be admitted, is lamentably weak
both in numbers and In organization. When
modified for war it could not by any means
exceed $4,000 men; and after deducting the
numbers require Il for the garrlsoDs of Ant
werp. Liege and Namur the full strength of
the field army would not amount TO more
than $1,000 men. Little or no assistance
could be expected from Holland, which
could only by great effort mobilize 40, 000
men, and which in the event of war would
probably shut up her army in the ed
entrenched position around Amsterdam. In
1 aa,aet tha,afn,n .o.N.,a In tho ,,rnha hi, m .
titude of England in the event of a violation
of Belgian neutrality. In 1870 Lord Gran
VILE distinctly stated that the government
would fulfil the obligations which England
had contracted toward Belgium under the
treaty OF 1889, and the house Of 90
voted $40. 0OO,o 600 to provide for the necessary
military preparations. If Antwerp were Of
interest to England then, that interest has
increased enormous sly since. The imports
of Antwerp are steadily increasing in value
and SO per cent Of the aggregate trade of the
port IS carried In British vessels. If the
fortress of Antwerp should pass into the
hands of ono OF tIeigreat western powers the
security Of England would be seriously
menaced and her commercial interests per-
manently lniursd.ai
Emperor Williams rescript regarding the
welfare OF the lahorng classes provoked a
protest on the part of Emperor Francis 10
seph, who accuseslhim of stealing his thun-
der, and of obtaipiug credit for a programme
of reforms Identical with that which was
submitted by hs Austrian majesty to the
Berlin government in 1872, ana which was
pigeonholed at the time by Prince Bis,
marck. The prince OF Wales has even gon,
q stop further than his imperial nephew. and
has written a public letter recommending
the appointment Of workingmen to seats on
the magisterial and judicial bench. He
does not, however, condescend TO ex'
plain how this laboring men in ques
ton are TO administer a code of so intricat,
and complex a nature, and one which
requires long years Of study and practicI
before the requisite amount Of knowledge i
attained. The climax. however, is reached
by poor old Dom Pedro. who Processes him
self prepared TO accept office under the re-
publican government AZ Rio. and even u
, serve q term as president OF Brazil II elected
TO the chief magistracy. In Norway, Italy
SPAN aud Portugal the cry Of "Long liv'