New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-31


ing for Home Rule, but these other questions
he expects that they will vote in accordance
with their professions and convictions Mr.
Chamberlain sees clearly enough whittier this
tends With the register put on reasonable
business basis and the principle of one man, one
vote embodied in legislation, the Liberal candi
dates would sweep the country and carry Home
Rule triumphantly AS Mr.. Chamberlain terscly
and picturesquely puts it, "Mr Gladstone will
give us his to grind in order that he may
afterward cut of our heads with it," Not for
joe is in effect his reply to this invitation Mr..
Gladstone probably did rot G. poet any other, but
the dilemma Of the Dissentient Liberals remains
There was certain amount Of rcasonablcncss
in their opposition to Liberal measures when it
was their main business to keep in ori.e Gov
ernment that barred the way to Home Rdle Now
that this Government is washed away, they can
not 90 opposing Liberal measures without finally
losing their claim to rank as Liberals
The election in Orkney and Shetland. the re-
suit of which was announced yesterday after
noon, completes the returns of the polling. At
the last moment recount gave the Greenock
seat to the Conservatives, thus fixing Mr.. Glad
stones majority at round forty. Will that he
enough for the work In hand? Mr.. Gladstone
himself, always disposed 10 take a sangune view
of the situation, holds that it will One OF his
former colleagues not the least eminent, and, per
haps, the most indispensable, writing on the sub
iect in private letter. says: The situation is
delicate, but not dangerous" That is as nearly
possible a precisely accurate description.
EverythEr will depend upon management. Even
in the composite state of parties and conflicting
interests in the now Parliament. il will take q
good deal Of mismanagcmcnt to frtter away a
m
test on definite issue.
The circumstances attending the counting OF
the votes at Grccnoct not calculated to inspire
confidence in the machinery of the Ballot act. AT
first t was announced that Sir Thomas Suther-
lard, Ministerial candidate, had pollcd 1900
votes against 1904, given to his opponent. The
addition Of these figures led TO the interesting dis
covpry that the aggregate exceeded the total mum
Der of voters on the register. There was evil
IDENTIFY a mistake somewhere. and the suppositon
was that a bundle Of 200 votes had been counted
twice over and added to the poll Of the Liberal
candidate As the recount gives total OF l91
votes less than were made up in the first dccara-
ton, this surmise is confirmed. 1t Ia evident
that, if there had not been exceptionally heavy
poll the wrong man would have been seated. 1t
was the nnrrowncss of margin between the num-
bers poled and the numbers on the register that
led to the discovery.
The death Of Lord SherbrooSe removes from
the political stage a figure more nearly akin TO n
mummy than 10 a living entity. Robert Lowe
never survived his removal to the House of Lords
For twelve years he libelled as Lord Sherbrookc,
ftfuly moved about that chilly Chamber. a mere
melancholy ghost One speech he delivered early
after his arrival, but il fell very fiat. II was
indeed not highly pitched. and he never again
made the attempt Even in the days when his
intellect was kecnest his physical eycsight was
dim In these latter days he grew almost ab-
solutely blind, while the light slowly faded from
his once brilliant mind
lie used, on great occasions, when his vote
was needed, 10 come down TO the House, lcd
thither by his wife, who seated herself beside
him in the side gallery assigned for the con-
venience Of peeresses. Hour after hour he sat
silent apparently attentivey listening TO the argu-
ments but il is doubtful whether, in his final
visits. he had any intelligent appreciation OF
what down below there, they fought each other
for When the division was called Lady Sh"r-
brooke leading him if he were a child, con-
Quoted him 10 the entrance TO the House, where
a friendly peer took charge of him and guided
his footsteps through the division lobby II was
a cad spectacle which might well have been
spared the memory of one Of the most brilliant
dcbatcrs that ever spoke in the House OF COM
mons II. w. L.