St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-27
RIDING FOR A TUMBLE.
The British Ministry Finds
Trouble in Maintaining a
Majority.
Unionist Members Refuse to
Linger Around to Prevent
a Defeat.
Narrow Escape for the Gov
eminent Yesterday on a
Minor Matter.
Custody Of Paris Funds to Be
Legally Decided--Europe
in General.

LONDON, Feb. 26.-The Conservative
commissioners who are urging the gov
eminent to dissolve parliament about
Easter are enforced by the daily diff
Guilty experienced by the Conservative
whips in keeping enough members to-
gether to prevent the opposition from
snatching division on anything like
an organized party struggle. The cab
met can still rely upon a majority of
sixty, but the Unionists, of whom one
third decline to contest for parliament
again, will not hang about the house to
save the government from chance de-
feat at unexpected moments.
The opposition members, now greatly
more attentive to their duties than are
the miDisterialistS, have on several di-
visions nearly succeeded in defeating
the government, An instance was fur
nished tonight in the case of a minor
measure relating to the provision of
lunatic asylums for the north of Ire
land. Messrs. Sexton and Healy and
Sir William Harcourt contended that
the bill ought to fall within the local
government measure. Mr.. Healy then
moved to adjourn, and when the tellerS
returned the result of the division was
handed to the Irish teller, Sir Thomas
Esmonde, with the intimation that the
motion had been carried. Wild cheers
arose from the opposition benches, and
the
FIinisterialfstsL Looked Aghast,
although Mr.. Jackson, the chief secre-
secretary for Ireland. had announced
that the bill was not purely govern
Elent measure. The incident took an
amusing turn, when. on Sir Thomas
EsmOnde'S reading the figures, it was
found that the motion to adjourn had
been defeated. the vote being 149 to 1877.
1t was small majority for the minis
terialists, but the pleasure of their sur
prise elected loud counter cheers from
the govern ment benches.
AS the session proceeds the ministers
are aware that the tendency to these
untOward incidents will increase By
the time Mr.. ChapIin's small holdings
bill is passed the house will have no
vitality left for prolonged wrangles
over the Irish local government bill.
Still, Mr.. BalfOur shows no disposition
to recede from his intention to carry
that measure. Writing to the Bristol
Unionists' club, he says: 81 am con-
WINGED that the more the bill is studied
the more it will be seen that it contains
machinery to promote broad, work
able system suited to Ireland. /
hope also to complete the general
scheme by introducing a bill transfer
ring to Ireland private bill legislation
now done at Westminster. If this
expression is sincere, Mr.. Balfour sim
ply ignores the course Of events in last
session known of protracted English
pafliamentS, the. dominant fact of which
is that the governments collapsed
through the apathy of retiring members
who failed to support them. Lord Sails
bury has informed his leading support
ers. of his intention to hold a 4 g..
Conference of the Party
on the eve of the day the Irish local
government bill is going to the commit
tee. The opposition tactics, he says.
under Mr.. GladstUne's leadership, will
then have developed and the Conserva-
tives will be enabled to decide on what
course they will pursue in the. matter.
A close scrutiny of the text of the
Irish local government bill does not
The restrictions with which the bill
hampers free action on the part of the
county councils are endless. A spe.
cial restriction which is not fully
explained is where Mr.. Balfour pro-
vides that council can only oppose a
bill in parliament under the assent of
the joint committee, of which body a
majority of the members are nOn-elect-
tive. A council will be unable 10 ap-
point or remove officers or to fix salaries
without the concurrence of the joint
committee. The Ulster members rejoice
over the powers given to this committee,
while the more the other Irish members
scan Mr.. Balfour's measure, the more
the bill becomes intolerable to them.
The approval of the small holdings
bill by the bulk of the Liberals will not
deter division. on the second reading,
in favor of compulsory powers to ac-
Quire land. Sir William Harcourt'S cor
diality of admiration of Mr.. Chaplin's
proposal was rather insincere. He took
the chance to make a covert sheer at
Mr.. Balfour by praising MIR. Chaplin.
The advanced radicals attack the bill as
using public credit to prop landlordism.