New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-27
NOTES FROM LONDON.
HUMOR IN PoLITICS-LoRD RosEBERY
AND SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT-LORD
SALISBURY on GERRYMANDER-
ING-"THE MASQUERADERS'
AGAIN-MR. TRAIL ON
JOURNALISM.


London. May 10.
People who think that a Prime Minister ought
to be solemn will not like Lord Rosebery' s
speeches on Wednesday at the National Liberal
Club any better than his speech at the Royal
- adeiny There was what is called pohtcal
- option at the vast political establishment in
Whitehall The two chief attractions of the even
ing were Lord Rosebery and Sir William Har-
court. AS no room in the club is large enough
to hold all who wanted to hear these two orators
Il was arranged that each should speak both In
the Library and IN the Reading Room. Lord
Rosebery appeared first in the Reading Room. and
Sir William Harcourt first IN the Library. In
these reciprocal circumstances, the Prime Min
lister seems TO have distressed the prigs anu
amused the rest OF the world by likening his
colleague and himself to Box and Cox. He ar
rived in the Library while the Chancellor Of the
Exchequor was speaking. and said;
Il am in the painful position of being Box ar
irving before Cox has left the house, and though
I cannot hope TO charm you with the accents of
Cox trust in the absence Of my distinguished
partner. you Will be content to listen for one
single moment TO the very unequal accents of
Box"
That is easy and cooquial and the allusion
must be familiar to everybody. at least in Eng
land, except the prig, who probably never saw
Mr.. Madison Mortons farce. and would not
have understood il If he had. On some other
points Lord Rosebery was serious enough but
imagine 1t is quite certain ne will never so far
cast off his old self to satisfy the social and
political purist. He cannot help seeing the hui
morous side Of things if he tries; and he does
not try.
Nor is Sir William Harcourt altogether solemn
cbI Of had
finished he professed himself in dilemma. He
had no idea what Lord Rosebery had said. and
thought the alternate arrangement" inconven-
tent of I say exactly the same thing. that
would be bore, and if were to say a different
thing that would be dangerous" 1t was
marked that he spoke of the Prime Minister as
the Leader OF the Government in the House of
Lords and of himself as unworthily occupying
the position Of Leader in the House OF Com
mons. He thought it desirable also to explain
that he had come there principally to assure any
body who cared 10 have the assurance that he
was not dead. and that, so far as he knew, he
was not dying, and that he had not deserted
and did not intend to desert the Liberal party.
To that extent did he take notice Of certain fool
fish rumors that have lately been current.
It was probably wise to take notice Of them
and to treat them with just sufficient scorn TO
make the contradiction effectual. No doubt Sir
William HarcOurt has felt the financial labors
which the Budget imposed on him No
doubt he has felt also the anxeties Of
leadership in the House Of Commons, where the
dozen or so groups which compose the Liberal
party pull in dozen different directions. Lord
Rosebery. with his youth and his sunny views Of
crises and other things. afford to regard
them with composure He does not come into
close contact with them; does not himself handle
the reins Sir William does The worry has told
him a little ard he has once twice shown
unusual degree of nervous susceptibility Per-
haps the House rather liked than otherwise to
discover in its leader these indications of human
passions and human weakness. Both sides
cheered him when. in answer TO a rather strong
remark by Mr.. Chamberlain. he referred to his
want Of physical and mental capacity for the
duties he had accepted. But nobody for one sin
gle moment believed in the want of capacity. or
imagined his depression to be other than tenn
porary. A few whiffs Of political success will
cure all that The success of his Budget will be
the best medicine. and the Budget. whatever else
may be said of It, is beyond question great
personal success for It's author
There was nothing in Lord Roseberys Academy
speech better than his epigram the other day at
Manchester One of the local orators had
ferred TO Mr.. Gladstones designation Of his young
friend-he is just forty-seven-as the man of the
future. The Prime Minister acknowledged the
kindly intention Of the compliment. But" he
said. Il am beginning 10 think IT is a great deal
easier to be the man Of the future than the man
Of the present" However, British human nature
has it's peculiarities. and since Lados won the
Two Thousand Guineas the difficulty of being
the man Of the present is for the happy owner
of hat uadr 2 &c
a humorous, but serious view
Lord Salisbury was good enough to say In his
Primrose League speech that eve owe TO
cousins across the Atlantic all our most express
sive political words" The word he was borrow
ing at that moment was Gerrymandering. The
chances are that he pronounced i'll did not
hear him-jerrynianderng, which the English
for some reason commonly prefer The meaning
of it, at any rate. he does not know. if he
does, he gave it an extension it will hardly bear.
He applied 1t first to the provision in Mr.. Glad
stones Home Rule bill by which eighty Irish
members were, as he says, to vote on questions in
which they had no interest and in respect
which they were therefore under control from
their constituents. The enactment Of such
law may be very profligate use Of political
power, but It is not gerrymandering.
He applied the word. secondly, to the pending
Registration bill. and he would have applied 1t
correctly had the Registration Bill been Re-
distribution bill. But 1t Is not There is no re-
arrangement of electoral boundaries or Of cleo
toral districts. AS there is none. there can be
no gerrymandering. 1t is a bill for disfran-
chisng, as Lord Salisbury says. some 100000
voters. rather some 10000 votes 1t contains
q provision. Also which would rejoice the heart
Of Tammany ward politician, reducing the
% he and
viding elaborate facilities for that form OF pOliu
cal fraud known personaton. But neither is
that gerrymandering. The word is not broad
enough 10 cover these various methods Of political
what shall say?-of political experiment. The
of 1lorIrnc