The morning call., 1891-08-23
RECEIVING
TIE FRENCH.
England Warmly Welcomes Her
Guests.
Trouble Anticipated Over the Passage Of the
Irish Government Bill-The TelHy-
son Gordon Memorial Episode.
EpeciAl to THE MORNING CALI.

New YORK, Aug. CA London cable
10 the Tribune says: 1.-The visit of the
French feet to The SOlent will confirm our
neghbors in the accuracy of their convic-
ton hat our skies are always sad and all
cur days stormy. 1t has rained and winds
have ragged with brief interval since the
French battle ships dropped anchor under
the shelter of the Isle Of Wight. This has
gone long way toward spelling the recep-
ton as far as the waterway Is concerned.
But ashore the crowd has been enormous,
and the welcome. from the Queen down.
ward, has left nothing to be desired 1t
differs from the Russian reception, mas
much as 1t has been marked by a
total absence of hysteria. 1t has there
fore been all the more genuine. 1t
has suffered considerably from the
particular period of the year at which it be-
fell. London is now empty; nearly all of
its clubs are closed and its notable denizens
are scattered far and wide by sea and by
land. The Prince of Wales, Lord Salisbury,
Gladstone, Balfour, Sir William Harcourt
and scores Of others, whose names are fam
liar in France, and who had they been in
town, would have taken some part in the
proceedings, are taking holiday. Still the
Queen has stayed at Osborne, even deferring
her visit to Balmoral, a concession unheard
OF, when merely affairs Of state are con-
cerned.
The French papers are iusistent in the
statement that the invitation for the fleet to
visit Port tsmOHth came from England. Lord
George Hamilton. the First Lord of the Ad-
mlralty, when asked a question on this
sutject just before the prorogation, posi-
20 lp ~ V.la in. FaA Ss,n
lures came from France. However that
may be il is certain that Salisbury, charmed
with the opportunity OF showing how happy
England could be with either Germany or
France, jumped at the proposal and has con-
centra,ed his official efforts upon the task of
making the visit a success. 1t is not the
PremieT's fault il it falls a little fat Had
the feet reached here whilst Europe was
still agltated by rumOrs of new alliances
and counter alliances thu interchange OF the
pledges of amity between the ancient
a.llies would have been impressive, but the
Hsmurs which a fortnight ago thrilled the
political world have dropped as suddenly
as they rose, and it comes to pass that the
visit suffers the fatal disadvantage that per-
talns to an anti-ciimaX.
Since P8rnell was denounced BY Glad
stone and withdrew from his alliance with
the English Liberal party, the Times has
been most punctious in reporting his
speeches, not only fully but in verbatim.
y ANii AcSlcCl ~ A4S last ptcCI, ueIlFeTeu NJ
hellson on Sunday. it went step further. The
conclusion of the speech not having reached
1t in time for its edition on the following
mornlng, II contained report In Tuesdays
paper, picking up another basket full, so
that nothing should be lost. This rare
favor, extended as a rule to not half dozen
public men, is not primarily intended to
crafty Parnel. 1t is not that the Times
hates its old enemy less, sut that it does not
love Gladstone more, and Parnell in these
ipVOfps m n of higT an J ali
teranceS to abusing the Liberal party.
The Government is threatened with trOu-
be in the matter of the Irish local govern
ment promised by Balfour as the principal
work of the next session. Some of their
political supporters think they have gone
far enough in the direction of carrying out
the Liberal programme and are showing
signs OF an intention to put their feet down
on this tampering with home rule. This eX-
preston of feeling finds utterance in some
OF tie principal conservative journals, both
weekly and daily, morning and evening" but
the protest, though not lacking in direct
ness, Is mid compared with the remarks
heard wherever two or three Conservatives
are gathered together II this demOnstra-
ton were manifested in analogous cir
cunlstances among the supporters of Glad
stone, 1t would be serious, even pOrten-
tous sign of the times. Before and since
The tea-room cabal placed him, in 1873, in
the minority on the question of Ilish educa-
4 tion. Gladstone has had occasion to learn
: that dlscOntent in his camp leads to action
rs well as to words. Balfour, fully in
formed of the rising revolt, has gone off to
Bayreuth with light heart to revel in Wag-
neTs music. Balfour believes that when
the critical moment arrives the courage of
the political Bob Acres, now fretting and
foaming, Will Ooze out Of their finger ends,
ard that he will be able to pass his bill just
as the Free Education measure was run
through.
When Lord Tennyson's letter asking,
Have we forgotten Gordon" appeared
solely in tho Telegraph. 1t did not require
special information of the ways of the
London press to perceive that the Poet
Laureate had made a curious and fatal
mistake. OF course there is no such mum
dane feeling as jealousy extant in high
editorial circles; only in daily practice IL
comes just to this, that If a public man
selects one paper exclusively for his COM
municatlOn. however wide the interest all
the Others will silently and simultaneously
boycott him, his topic aud his letter. Had
Lord TennysOn taken what seems the OBJ
vious course Of sending a copy of his letter
TO all the London morning papers he would
have raised in a fortnight the a40 600 he
seeks; but since he reserved his letter ex-
clusively for the Telegraph, the other morn
ing papers have stared straight before them,
and the appeal threatens to end in fasco.