New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-03-01
THE I" NEW" RADICALS
BRICKS-SIR WILLIAM ~,
COURT, MIR. JOHN BURNS. AND MD
FREDERIC HARRISON
London. Eehrilaru "a

Sir William HarcOurt who Is ALWAYS er,o
ing and frequently instructive. devoted n.r, :.
his discourse at Portsmouth last night % a.
New Radicalisn. This discourse doservos -.
adjectives. though the instruction To be dor,,.s.
from it is not perhaps quite what Sir VIM
meant it to be. AS for his manner I, {.
musketry fire Of epigrams paradoxes .ns
rhetorical pyrotechnics. He understands ,ho,
popular audience in the large Drill Hall AZ por,.
mouth likes short, sharp, cracking sontaro..
and he gives them plenty. He is adroIt enorrs
to know-and few men are more adrolt whether
on the platform or IN the Council Chamber or T.
Parllament-that faacy can be packed w.
neatly in a short sentence than in a long p,.,'
ity is an excuse for those omissions by holm =.
which the faacy can be best presented 70 ~.
popular mind. Amplifcation would imnair g..
simplicity and disclose its weak places
But the odd. and also the instructive n,-, -.
Sir William Harcourts essay on the New RAD.
calism IS his effort 10 identify it with the ~.
Radicalism. It is not a successful effort. ~ |.
were, he would only succeed in proving that N.
New Radicals of to-day about where Mr.
Chamberlain was in the days Of the unauthorizaa
programme He has slain Mr.. Chgr1berlaln "a
often that he might well seek an .her victim
Better still. he might present his admirers with
some fuller account OF the opponents OF the New
Radicaism. He might paint portrait. for ey.
ample Of Mr. John Burns If any earmark ia
stamped deep on the New Radcalsm It Is that
Of the Trade Union, and If anybody In the House
Of Commons is a representative OF these cruel
organizations" it is the member for Battersea
lie il. moreover. just now object Of particular
interest on account Of an incident to which Will
presently refer. With him Sir William might
have brackcted his friend ard panegynst Mr.
Frederic Harrison. He, too is Trade Unionist
in an amiable. academic. dile,tante way He
stands for the Ra1icalism Of the classes as Mr..
Burns does OF the masses. Mr. Burns. as all
the world knows. is or was a working engineer.
a believer in practical methods. and leader Of
strikes. lie has descended into the streets. car
riel red flags. preached violence. threatened So
ciety. At present he Is on what his old associates
think the down grade. He has become compare
lively moderate Ii is the more Interesting be-
cause the cultivated lettered, wealthy and liter
airy Mr.. Harrison is all the while becoming more
immoderate But a study Of the two together
would have been delightful if only Sir William
IIarcourt would have entered upon it IL his most
energetic manner
NJ John Burns II IS understood is about to
bring in bill to put gag upon what he calls
craftsmanship by prosecuting agency" Moth
ing is more inconvcnlent to the agitator
turned legislator than the practice of quoting The
violent sayings Of his more violent days. Mr..
Burns himself is now suffering from this repre-
hensiblc practice. To make K worse. he is suf-
fering at the hands OF a man who IS trying to
supersede him in the confidence Of the masses,
Tower ill-Wllliams." as Admiral Maxse calls
him When Williams found himself In danger
rom recommending that the police should be sent
10 heaven by chemical parcel post" he ex-
planned that the true author Of this rather strk-
ng phrase was none other than Mr Burns. NJ p.
Il is the same ~. Burns who recently told his
constituents Of Battersea that the working
.lasses IN America Enthusiastically are not greatly
Instinct from the slaves OF Africa" But It was
rot the police whom Mr. Burns proposed to dis
'atch by chemical parcel post believe he con-
ends that he did not propose TO dispatch any
,ody. But this is what he said. April 10, 1887:
Lately Europe had been startled by an at
empt on the lifc Of the Car Of Russia. "a
-olce--A good job. too.O Great sorrow had been
expressed by the papers at the attempt on the
,ar; Of the men who in Russia were only dcsper-
tc and only resorted to force and secret So
ieues because constitutional methods were dis
lowed them. CLEAR. heard Great sorrow was
arth Of tyrant lie was very sorry that they
IL not succeed. (Cheers) lie would ask those
icn who deprecated force and extreme measures.
they did not ike the idea Of Joseph Chamber
ain following the Car to heaven by means Of
chemical parcel post. to join their hands with
hose men who We're trying TO remove the causes
,hich made political assassination necessary"
It would be difficult to distinguish between
st ba IN
hist: which Mr. John Burns is not. He APP
roves the attempt to murder the Car, and re-
rets its failure lie suggests. though he does
ot expressly say. that Mr. Chamberlain may
ave TO 60 10 heaven by chemical parcels post.
ne account couples Lord Salisbury with Mr..
chamberlain. Mr. Burnss defender in The
hronicle" says. THE wording of this may not
q academic. but its meaning Is. OF course, the
reaching Of moral as against physical force!'
% others IL may seem more in the nature Of the
LIBERATED exhortatior, DO not nail his ears to
L. pump" Admiral Maxse says: I'm plain
nguage the declaration is: Political assassina-
On is necessary II you do not adopt my poll
cs'; " and again:
II say that the utterance is an Indirect ap-
-oval OF murder. and. considering the speakers
norant and credulous audience. Il might very
ell have been interpreted instigation 70
urder Lord Salisbury and Mr.. Joseph Cham-
,rlain.'
There was. believe. some sort OF inquiry
10 the matter at the time. and the language
rs brought to the notice OF the Home Secre-
ry then Mr.. Henry Matthews. But the Homo
'cretary di not think it desirable 70 take pro
edngs, any more than Mr.. Asquith now thlhAS
desirable to take proceedings against "Iower-
IN Williams who adopts Mr. Burns IAN
age. Mr. Asqu!th and Mr. Burns are now
elementary colleagues. and both good "iau-
,nians 1t would be awkward for Mr. Asqui'h
have to move in the matter. y prosecution
Williams might bring out Mr.. Burns as d
tness. otherwise 1t Is. however NUS
1cult for the outsider 10 understand why
oud be thought best TO suffer Williams 10
each assassination day after day win III
nifty on a former occasion Mr.. Asquith' IN
'rogatcd In the House of Commons maze an.
er that such people were only IN scarf" "a
toriety and that questions in Parliament ohV
ltifcd this desire = for public security, ne