New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-21


| On the question whether Home Rule be dead.
or rather dropped out of the Liberal programme.
an interesting dispute occurred this week between
Mr.. Chamberlain and Sir William Harcourt. Mr..
Chamberlain had discovered a leafet issued from
| the Central Liberal headquarters, containing an
elaborate enumeration Of the articles Of the Liberal
| faith, sixteen in all Home Rule is not among
I them. There is in IL, TO use Mr.. Chamberlalns s
emphatic phrase, absolutely no allusion. direct
| or indirect open or concealed, TO the
sacred cause Of Home Rule; and he wants
| to know whether the Gladstonians have in
deed abandoned this item of their policy.
! or whether they hold to 1t, but keep 1t out OF
sight in order to win byelections Neither, answers
| Sir William Harcourt, and he ridicules the notion
that the party is compromised by pamphlet is
sued by the official managers Of the party. The
secretary, moreover, writes to say that the
pamphlet has been withdrawn. Withdrawn, re-
torts Mr. Chamberlain, after having done the
work it was meant to do at by-eections.
Ministers have this week burnt their fingers
over two questions sufficiently remote from each
other. Manipur one. They did not resist
Sir William Haroourts motion for papers which
| involved no censure upon them anybody;
but Sir John Gorst, who speaks for the India
Office in the House Of Commons, surpassed himself
|
censure which the Opposition itself hesitated to
pronounce on the Viceroy and other great Of
fcials In India their official defender hinted at
if he did not pronounce 1t amounted 70 this, that
there had been a good deal Of laundering, which
might have been expected but would never have
been heard Of had not an unforeseen disaster fol-
! lowed
Sir John had hand, too, IN the other Minis
terial trouble of the week. Mr.. Sydney Buxton
moved O new clause to the Factories act, raising
the age Of half.time child labor In the factories
from ten TO eleven. Sir John Gorst. who was the
English delegate to the Berlin Labor Conference
owned to the House that he there agreed to raisT
ing the limit from ten to twelve years, and that
be assented 10 this proposal by Lord SALISBURY
direction. This seemed to bind England with
raserence N other countries and to bind the Min
tstrv with reference 10 the House Of Commons; ;
but Sir John dismissed it lightly as q mere moral
obligafion and the Home Secretary opposed Mt
Buxtons clause for himself and his colleagues
The House did not understand or did not like,
this rather airy treatment of serious SUBJECT
and Mr. Buxton's clause was carried over thelr
heads by I6 majority. The matter has no more
10 do with politics than il has with astronomy
but the Gladstonians hailed the defeat OF the
Ministry with glee. The working classes them
selves do not appear to desire the boon onereu
them. or offered their children. Their we" ~
that the sooner children can be put to WORK ohe
sooner they begin 20 earn something ana one
better workmen they are likely TO become IN the
ond Tho House subsequently rejected motion
nreventinc children under fourteen from being
ennloyed except as half timers and the Factories
act which Ia in the main a useful one, was read
third time. $50
Other Parliamentary business has proceeded
| anace The hot weather diminishes obstructlon'
and now that the Land bill is passed even the
Radicals see little to gain by obstruction which
hos therefore become more fitful than systematic.
Tho navy estimates have been got through
Mnch else has been got through The free bou-
cation bill comes UP on Monday and THAI very
considerable measure, one which the poorer class
strongly desire, seems likely soon to be law.
The Imperial Federation League, never very
lono silent. have this week been urging LORD
Salisbury to convoke conference OF the colonies
n consider the question of securing to them a
reoI and effective share in the privileges and re-
sponsibilities of the Empire. The phrase is as
vague as are all phrases emanating from patri-
otic vet still slightly nebuious body. They got a
speech out of Lord Salisbury, but not much eise'
The speech. indeed was we'll calculated TO bring
these gentlemen down from the clouds, hitherto
their favorite habitation. Lord Salisbury was IN
his heaviest vein of hard commonsense. Don't
he said in substance don't bring your colonial
| statesmen from the uttermost ends Of the earth
| IN rondon. unless you have some definite scheme
n Law before them He we'll knows, everybody
| l,nows that they have definite scheme. ANY
| attempt to frame or to commit the members
of the League to it would be likely to result IN
the immediate dissolution OF the League Az
vros.nt they are content, as Lord Salisbury told
| them cvnically enough, TO state q problem. lhey
offer NO solution, and he invited them TO put their
| hest brains at work in search Of one. But Uha'
is not in truth the aim Of this Imperial federa-
! tion Ieaaue Their aim is to cultivate tha' very
sentiment which he mildly derided as vain IL
is not vain. 1t is the sentiment which holds this
Fmpire together under existing ties and tlii
better ties can be invented it is useful funchon
| 70 strengthen those which exist.
The pubhc sittpgs Of the Royal Commission on
Tabor began ON Wednesday, and the eWuence
taken is now daily reported In the papers
Before they entered upon the almost enuIess III
ouirv entrusted to them. the members Of the Com
mission divided the subject into three secuohs'
Zach Of which is to be considered by separate
,,,i++ee The classification adopted is con-
,,orient rather than scientific. Group includes
mining engineering, shipbuildng. hardware
NOUN p deals with questions of transportation ana
r;culture group G with textile chemical buiid-
;nc and miscellaneous trades. 1t is group which
has first begun work. Lord Derby presiding. the
model chairman. with his clear head and genius
Co.. nuttinp questions. 1t looks as If all recent
+nodo dsnutes were to be threshed out over again.
nd tho labor side is given the first hearing. The
rnions appear in the persons Of prominent lead
ars Mr. Tom Mann. of the most prominent OF
all being himself Royal Commissioner and look
inc sharply after the interests Of his comrades
The Dockers Union. with Its 4o'ooo men, repre-
sented by two voluble witnesses MI Mooar'nS
d Mr. Atkins. and Mr. Atkins has horn
Ga tbe noljtcal economists by avowing the
-,sh 20 make the State the regulator OF
,,oa,es This is one of those heresies sup
-es e. be long since dead and buried. The
rigbt-honrs question came up incidentally, Mr.
Atkins admitting that the workmen could not
agree on it. Altogether there is good prospect
Of ending out what really lies in the minds OF