New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-09-16
LORDS AND COMMONS.
III.
THE DUAL LEADERSHIP OF THE CONSER-
VATIvEs-THE CONSERVATIVE TRIO.
MR.. BALFOUR, Mr.. CHAMBERLAIN.
{. AND ESPECIALLY MR. COURTNEY.

{, AND ESPECIALLY MR. COURTNEY.
London, August %.
The dual leadership Of the Unonist party in
the House Of Commons mas several advantages;
among them that Of enabling Mr.. Balfours
friends to point out how superior he is to Mr..
Chamberlain and Mr.. Chamberlain's friends to
point out how superior ne Is to Mr.. Bafour II
is nevertheless. possible 10 recognize the high
qualities Of each, and not absolutely necessary to
determine which. II either. is the greater Mem
Der Of Parliament. The inquiry. at any rate, Is
not one upon which am going to enter. Neither
of them can be summed up briefly. Each mis- a
great place In the House and before the country,
and about each IL is necessary to say much
from time to time in connection with the events on
which they figure that long before the end of a
session. the reader who cares for such matters
has material on which to Judge for himself 50
has he on the much narrower issue-which Is the
one that strictly concerns us now-whether either
or both has gained lost in reputation since last
January Perhaps II Is enough 10 say that, by
common consent the Front Opposition Bench Is
more than match in debate and In business for
The Treasury Bench on which Ministers sit and
that II you eliminated Mr. Balfour and Mr..
Chamberlain, this admission would no longer be
made Says Radical journalist in the front
rank:
The official Liberal party struggles with many
difficulties. Its case is not presented with the
force and wealth of iusti alton. the easy COM
mand OF facts ana arguments, which men ike
Mr.. Balfour and Mr.. Chamberlain display
1t is not every Radical Liberal who is
equally frank in print but almost all of them
would say, and do say. privately what their moro
outspoken colleague cries from the housetops.
And when you have such testimony that from
the leading Liberal Journal mean THE Chron-
icle" which with all It's Socialism remains Lib
eral-you need hardly look further
Nor will IL be quite TO you. have quoted
similar expressions before now from various Lib
eral and Radical sources. There can be no doubt
that the House as whole regards Mr. Balfour
not only with admiration but with Kind OF
affectionate goodwill In the contentiousness
of public life Mr. Gladstone had II. but Mr.
Gladstone had been sixty years in evidence. Mr.
Balfours official career is not yet ten years old
1t began in 1885 His leadership dates from 1891
Such is the brevity Of the space within which he
has attained to this degree Of general regard
The sweet reasonableness which distinguishes
him has not impaired his authority He is i'm
plicity obeyed by party which contains good
many mutnous elements. If the party man ever
finds fault with him it is because he does not
always take the mere party view. He finds his
account even as leader, in applying to politics
that mental detachment which is an essential
part Of his intellectual nature. II is no longer
disputed that Mr. Balfo1r leads we'll. He knows
when to stand out for the uttermost rights OF
an Opposition but slightly inferior In numbers TO
the majority and when to yield good-na turedly
upon points which h. need not press too FAR
His good nature and good temper carry him over
many a difficulty. and they endear him TO the
House.
Difficult as a whole This session has undoubt-
tba nnn
than for the Ministry: numerous az have been the
troubles and perils of those in authority. defen-
sive position is almost always more difficult to
maintain than an offensive. The test is. or one
test is which has gained and which has lost
ground. The Ministry have been almost as mucn
on the defensive their opponents They have
survived, but only survived Do they think. do
\, they even allege that they stronger with the
country than when they came in? Hardly. And
II they are not. II is the sxilful conduct OF the
opposition 10 them which has left them weaker
than they were And tie conduct Of the oppo-
sition has been Mr.. Balfour's
Mr. Chamberlain, of course has shared and
shared largely both in council and in action. |
should say at that he is reckoned more
formidable parsonage. whether inside or outside
the House than ne months ago. He has
more than held his own against more continu-
any public man OF his time. The Irish can hard
" keep their hands off him; upon their tongues
they impose no restraint. nor he much upon his.
though he understands far better than they do
the act Of saying a deadly thing in Parlia-
mentary way The one power which avas
Member of Parliament beyond all others is power
In debate, and in that Mr.. Chamberlain is su-
ppeme. In debate 1t is understood In the
House, where II almost always means an en-
counter and often a battle, he has no match
He Is dreaded nobody else is dreaded. Mr.
Balfour can deal as hard blow when he chooses
but ne more seldom chooses and ne has, even In
the heat OF a general engagement chivalry
which leads him to spare zoe who Is down
Mr. Chamberlain fights fair but gives no quarter
Not during this session only. but throughout
his career and especially since 1886, when he de-
clined TO follow Mr. Gladstone In his quest Of
the Home Rule fleece. he has accumulated a
store Of resentments and hatreds. He makes
HIGHT Of them He has just confidence In his
ability to use his own phrase. to take care of
himself He Is too old to change. At ffty-eight
a mans character is not easily remoulded least
Of all a character so positive and energetic as
his But even at hfty-eght 1t might do Mr..
Chamberlain no harm 10 ask himself why 1t Is
that while he Is hated his colleague. Mr.. Balfour,
party leader though he be. and an adversary
before whom everybody goes down. is loved, and
loved by the very whom his blows fall
heaviest. I do not know that Mr.. Chamberlain
would be a less redoubtable Combatant II he car
ried into public life some of that amabihty
which he reserves for private intercourse.
II there be third prominent figure among
the Uhionists It is Mr.. Leonard Courtney His
celebrity, so far as the present session goes. Is
due to one speech. and that was anything but
party speech. Mr.. Courtney, though stanch
Unionist. is to the House Of Commons what the
late Lord Derby was to the House OF Lords. He
has judicial mind He sees. and he cannot help