The morning call., 1892-03-20
Gladstone's Political Gymnastics on
Leading Issues.
FlTORS BOTH SIDES OF THE MEASURES.
AgitatiOn Of the Question Of Home Rule in Wales
The Kai@r's Difference TO Overwhelming
Public opinion.
Special 10 THE MORNING CALI

New YORK, March 19-Smalley's cable
dispatch from London to the Tribune says:
The politician who first invented fence as
good thing 10 sit on is now here in these
days. He is said 10 have been an American.
1t is now an Englishman who practices pol
itics with the most ingenuity among all liv-
Ing English practitioners. Gladstone is
easily first. The older parliamentary hand
gets the more remarkable becomes his pro-
feIency In political gymnastics. Anybody
can sit on fence. Nobody but Gladstone
can get down on both sides of it at
the same time. He did it on the re-
cent African debate when he spoke against
the measure for suppressing the slave trade,
but walked out OF the house without voting.
He has done it with even more ingenuity
this week on the land tenure bill in Wales.
He spoke against that bill and voted against
it, but declared that he might at some future
time vote for it. Thus was everybody
satisfied.
Welsh Home Rule.
The bill which Gladstone thinks he may
support in the dim hereafter is the bill to
transfer property in Wales from the land
loris TO the tenants. Gladstone himself
described il as a bin which would funda-
mentally alter all land contracts In Wales.
In It's main features it is modelled on his
own Irish land act of 1881
1t is e modest attempt to put Welsh home
rule, so far as II is agrarian, on the same
basis as Irish home rule. Gladstone, how
ever, who complained that with respect TO
Ireland there WAS too much evidence,
complains with respect to Wales that there
is too little. His case is not made out This
bill has been bro ught in four or five times
before There has been time enough TO col
lect evidence If there were any to collect,
but there is none.
Wants Welsh Support
Gladstone therefore suggested that the
Government should appoint a commission
10 go In search Of the same; should ii be
found, then il would be time to redeem his
conditional promise TO support the future
bill. The Welsh tenants have votes, and
the Welsh members are an important Sec
ton of GladstOne's following in the House
of Commons. Most of them are Radicals,
and their radicalism is of that kind which
looks TO attacks on property as a means of
future vote power. In other words 1t is
soelalistic.
The German Crisis.
The Ministerial situation is one that could
occur nowhere but in Germany. This edu-
cation bill was an imperial measure, and
second Cabinet measure. All the Minis
ters approve it. except Herr Miguel. who
objected to it on financial grounds aud Of
fered his resignation, which was not ac-
cepted. II there were real Parliamentary
Government in Prussia the fate of the bill
could not be affected by change of the
EnpeFor's mind. If il were the whole Cabi.
net would resign. but since the Cabinet has
a majority IN the Diet means would be
found to prevent such resignation. These
speculatlOns have no relevancy 10 the actual
state OF things in Prussia, where as the
world has been so often informed, the will
OF the King is the supreme law. Anything
may happen under an arbitrary rule dis
guised but hardly limited by constitutional
forms.
L, A. i
ferring to overwhelming public opinion
against his so-calied education bill, which is
simply bill TO put elementary education
in Prussia under clerical control. His sur
render is nevertheless fatal to his Oft
repeated claim to infallbility, and eX.
asperates his own party without con-
ciliating the opposition. Fresh reports of
his illness have been afloat all the week and
tie Emperor left Berlin yesterday to spend
some days at Hubertustock in search Of
health.
Acts of Anarchists.
1t would seem to be in honor of the anui-
yerSaTy of the commune that the anarchists
OF the Continent have resumed their expert
meDts with dynamite. Both explosions in
Paris. the one in the boulevard st. German
and the one in the Lobau Barracks are be-
lieyed by the police to be due to the zeal Of
these radical socialists or socialstic
radicals. No one was killed and there
IS nothing known as TO the authors
OF the outrages. The French police,
acting after their manner, have arrested a
number of persons on suspicion, searched
the houses OF known anarchists all over
Paris and discovered some documents but
no dynamite The documents are said TO
indicate the existence OF an anarchistic
league, which is highly probable, as at n o
time since 1871 has Paris or any of the chief
European cities been free from such league.
A bill making such explosions punishable
by death has been introduced in the French
Chamber, and elaborate police precautions
have been taken. The extreme Left, TO the
number OF thirty, think this is good time
for reorganiZing themselves aud declaring
war on The Government. Their pretext is
the fear OF clerical encroachment OIner
putrages are reported from Liege, from
Brussels and from other less important
places, and SOcialist-Democrat has been
elected to the Reichstag from Auerbach-
Reicheubach by rather more than 1000 ma
foritv