New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-18
THE NEWS OF EUROPE.
TALKING AGAINST THE LORDS
TWO SPEECHES BY CABINET MINISTER'S,
BUT NO OPEN DECLARATION
OF WAR.

CIIISTS IN LONDON-SOCTH AFRICAN
AFrAIRs-ANARcHIsTs IN PARIS
THE NEW AcADEMrcIAN.
tpv CABLE TO THE TRIBUNE,
fcopyrfoht 1894: By Tie Tribune Assoetotfo..,
London. Feb. lit has been a busy week.
both at Portsmouth and Westminster. and there
has been a good deal Of tall talk" about ana
against the House Of Lords The net result ana
meaning Of It all are still little uncertain. The
big caucus which goes by the big name OK the
Liberal Federation. has indeed spoken out pretty
plainly so far as mere resolutions go. II dc"
nounces the Lords IN good Sc. terms Tor tneir
"hab,tual disregard of the National will" II
accuses them Of delaying. mutilating and re-
iecting measures demanded by the country and
approyed by the House OF Commons" It fierce
" rebukes the "intolersble abuse OF the powers
nossessed by tn hereditary and non-representa-
tive chamber" But when you have finished
the rhetorical part Of the resolution and come TO
what ought 10 be the operative part, the conclu-
sion is n little lame. The caucus is content to
assure the Ministry Of "the enthusiastic and
strenuous support of the Liberal party In what
ever measures it adopts TO secure that the House
OF Commons shall be the paramount authority
in the State" We are brought back, therefore.
to the question. What will the Ministers doT
And TO the ultimate question or ALL What does .
Mr.. Gladstone intend? Upon that all-important
point there is t:le or no fresh light.
Two Cabinet Ministers went down to Ports
mouth and made speeches. Mr.. Acland Is the
first He is not in the first or the second rank
but he is a personal friend Of Mr. Gladstone as
well as lis political colleague. and MS speech
was eagerly scanned; but in vain He was fui
Of the spirit of battle the two bills directly at
a,,I
on the greater issue Of ending or mending the
hereditary chamber. The party organ in Lon
don defined his speech "a message from the
Cabinet" II It be. 1t only proves that the Cab
met had no definite message to deliver on what
T call the mai'. issue He raised much en-
thusiasm by proclaming 10 the Portsmouth peo-
nile that the Government will negative alr' the
Lords amendments TO the Parish Councils Dill.
Even that may not prove TO be literally 40
curate forecast.
When Sir William Harcourt spoke the next
day he gave his colleague fresh certhcate as
a messenger from the Government but ne old
not quite echo his words I'VE Will deal Win
these amendments faithfully" quoth Sir WILL
iam His speech however. has far higher Inn
'portance than Mr.. Acland's. His authority 10
much greater; his experience in politics equal 70
anybody's except Mr.. Gladstone himself HIS
attack on the Lords was In his most energeuo
manner-a very effective piece OF political In
vective. which was at times very personal also.
He woke tn, cheers OF the great audience. filling
the drill hall at almost every sentence.
Nothing could be more damaging than his
rattIlng recapituation OF the iniquties OF the
second chamber His hearers included the very,
flower Of the Liberal wrepullers-the men whose
aim and object in life is 10 win elections. They
only want TO know how to do IT, and what the
cry is to be with which the Government Is gong.
to the country. when 1t goes-a date whicn no
man yet presumes to fix. They hung upon Sir
Wulian's Inns They asked themselves and
each other, What will he propose? Is 1t TO Dc
Down with the Lords" or IL 1t not? Alas. 1t
presently appeared that Sir William was nos
prepared to utter that particular incan,aton
which, as the faithful had been told in ADVANCE
was to sum up and supersede the Newcastle
Programme.
His peroration proved to be more picturesque
than practcal-a fine piece Of oratory without
much real politics in il. His counsel was not
much more than an echo of Mr. Gladstone's
Edinburgh speech last September. He treated
the work Of the last fortnight during which Mr..
Schnadhorst has seriously bent his mind to the
overthrow Of the Lords preliminary and edu-
cational. Let us have a few more such fort.
nights" cried the orator. Give them rope
enough teach the people that the Lords are the
enemies not of this bill or that bill. but OF all
measures of reform. and the champions or all
abuses. Let the object lessons be many. the
| moral fragrant. Then when the cup is full and
| the time is ripe. the verdict Of the people shall
he taken on the general issue" That can only
mean that in the opinion of the Ministry the
| cup is not yet full. the time not yet ripe, tho
| verdict Of the people not yet 10 be taken.
| This is not the feast TO which all these party
| managers were invited. The situation is noe
very different from that OF last autumn. Then
also the managers looked to their leader. the
Prime Minister. for marching orders and did
not get them. The intended agitation collapsed.
II was but too clear that the country had not
| been sufficiently aroused. The same thing 10
| Gear
The very organs Of the party which have been,
| hottest for immediate battle acquiesce-sullenly'
| enough but still acquiesce-in the postpone
ment of the strife. They begin to that .
| revolution, constitutional revolution. Is
| not quite so simple a matter they had imag-
| ined one OF them. indeed. talks about a man.
| date to the Government from the Liberal Feds
| Grafton a mandate to Mr.. Gladstone from q
caucus of the Gladstonian party. Not thus is
the order of political events arranged in this
| country Mr. Gladstone Is far shrewder elec-
| tiOneering agent tnan al the Scnnadnorsts or
| Portsmouth. He. and not they, will determine
the moment for the assault, II any is to be de-
| livered.
| The mandate they address 10 him through
| THE Chronicle is that he shall put into the
| forefront of the sessional programme a resolu.
ton declaring against the power OF veto by the
Lords That Is not very formidable proposal
even when backed by a scheme for agitation
| throughout the Kingdom 1t is indeed. highly
probable that agitation will be set on foot,
at least as an experiment Caucuses ana
Schnadhorsts can do great deal TO infiame
public opinion The Ministers want all the help
they can get. first to force the Lords to give way
| on the two bills whose fate now hangs In the
balance and second. to go to the country with
| -. afcooti..a annaal uhen Tie time Comes They