The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-04-08
k>rd Rosebery Losing strength.

The RosEBERY Government has been
beaten again In the House Of Commons,
this time by majority Of one. The defeat.
indeed, was on q local measure. the East
London Water bill. and does not. there
fore. render resignation or dissolu-
ton unavoidable. Nevertheless. as the
Ministers were not taken by surprise.
but made the most vigorous efforts for sue
cess. the moral effect is much more serious
than was that Of the reverse previously
caused by Mr.. LABoucHERB. The defeat 10
attributed by the newspaper organs OF the
Government to the fact that the nine Parnell-
ties and ten OF the McCarthyites were alb
sent and impaired; but as the normal major.
ity is about forty. 1t Is evident that some
twenty British Liberals also must have
failed TO support the leaders Of their party.
Such signs Of indifference or disaffection
Justify the belief that the dissolution Of
Parliament will take place at an early day.
Is the next House Of Commons likely to
prove more favorable to Lord RosEBEBY
Assuming that the present registration
system will remain unchanged. and &C.
ceptinR the recent by-elections as proofs OF
the drift Of public sentiment. We should an
swer the question In the negative. II must
be remembered that the Unionists need to
gain Oily twenty seats to extinguish the
majority which Mr.. GLADSTONE secured
through o coalition OF his followers with
both wings OF the Irish National party.
From the signally reduced majorities Of
the Liberal candidates at the by-elections
In Scotch constituencies It IL probable that
q number Of seats In Scotland will be lost by
the present Government. or the sew
enty-two members allotted TO that king
dom. the Liberals will be lucky II they re-
turn forty, instead Of the fifty whom they
now have. This estimate is partly based
upon the fact that at the next general
election the whole vote controlled by the
Established Kirk will be thrown against
the Liberal party. while 1t Ia by no means
certain that some influential representa-
tlves Of the Free Kirk will sacrifice their
Unionist proclivities to their desire for dis
establishment. In Ireland q three-cornered
fight between Parnellites. MoCarthyites.
and Healyites would DO likely to result In
Unionist gain OF two or three seats In
Ulster and perhaps one or two In Dub
lin. In Wales the Liberals may rea-
sonably expect to hold their own. and
they should have strengthened their grasp
on the agricultural voters by the passage
of the Parish Councils bill. One would
think. too. that they ought 10 make some
gains In the metropolitan dlstrict-which
returns rs many members a. the whole of
Scotland seeing that they have promised
TO grant much larger powers to the London
County Council than the Unionists are will
Ing to concede. Viewing England collec-
lively, however. We should not be surprised
to see the Liberals lose q number OF seats
sufficiently large TO place them In minor
ity In the next House OF Commons. or the
English constituencies which they carried
In 1892. more than fifty were won by very
small majorities. which would be extin-
guished by . much lower percentage of
loss than wac observed In recent local con-
tests. 1t should also be borne In mind that
the pecuniary resources OF the Unionists
will be at least ten times as great as those
Of their opponents.
On the whole. the chances are that should
an appeal 20 the country be made In the
course Of the next few weeks Lord ROSE
Berry would be beaten. The effect OF such
an event upon the prospects Of Ireland
would be disastrous, but We must reserve
II for separate discussion at another time.