New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-13
THE NEWS OF EUROPE.
A BUDGET FOR CONFISCATION.
TAXATION Of THE FEW FOR THE BENU-
FIT OF THE MANY ADOPTED BY
SMALL MAJORITY.
LORD RosEBERY's TRIUMPH ON THE TuRF-m
MUNDELLA-THE INDIAN scARE-RAMPANT
BEN AND CAPTAIN MAHAN-THE FRENCH
vERNMENT-THEATRICAL.
fBY CABLE TO THE TRIBUSE.l
fcopryioat: 1891: BY The Tribune AnoeationJ


tBY CABLE TO TRIBUyEl
tcopr,lght: 1891: By The Tribune AmOaattomJ
London May 12.-"All governments are always
in critical position" said Lord Rosebery on
Thursday. His own, so far as the House OF Com
mons is concerned, is doing something to justify
this rather large generalization. There has been
q Ministerial or perhaps more accurately speak
ing a Parliamentary, crisis all this week. II
came to an end for the time being on Thursday,
when the unremittng efforts of the party lead
ers and party whips rolled up the magnificent
ma iority of fourteen The date Of the next crisis
is not definitely fixed. 1t may. however, again
be said that the greatest danger OF all does not
lie in a crisis foreseen and prepared for Crisis
foreseen is commonly a crisis averted as In this
case.
The bill which has brought the Government
within this too easily measurable distance Oh oe-
feat is that same Budget bill which, as LORD
Rosebery said at Manchester, had lifted Sir Will
lam Harcourt at a bound into the front rank OK
fnanciers It is no better and no worse as
specimen of finance because 29s members OF
the House Of Commons have voted against the
second reading and only 30S for 1t. To oppose the
second reading OF a Budget bill is said Sir Will
lam Harcourt reproachfully. without precedent
q almost
less plume himself on thing. The most in
iouitous part Of his scheme that which plumbers
everybody with an income exceeding $4,000 for
the benefit of everybody with an income under
s2 500. passes without challenge It may not be
good finance; 1t proves to be good politics. Mr..
Balfour who attacked nearly every other propo-
sal. applauded this No leader. it appears and no
marty. can afford to stand up for honesty and
Justice when the interests Of the masses-that Is,
of the maiority-are bound up with dishonesty
and injustice.
The principle of this Budget has been ex-
nounded so often that even in a great debate, in
volving the existence OF Ministry as well as
scheme OF finance not much that is new has been
advanced Mr. Bafours criticism was directed
in great part against the death duties and
the system OF graduation-the latest political eu-
phemism for confscaton. The confscauon now
proposed is partial. What Sir William Harcourt
aims at is to establish the principle OF conrsca-
ton II has hitherto been held that the rich, like
the poor should pay in proportion 10 their means
The modern doctrine, set forth by the present
Chancellor Of the Exchequer. is that the rich
shall pay out OF proportion to their means. ana
not the rich only, but the moderately wel-to-do.
Capital Is attacked. Property Of all kinds is at
tackled The doctrine of ransom which In Mr..
Chamberlans mouth provoked years ago just re-
sentiment and rebuke. is unblushingly
preached by those who then sat in Judgment on
this since repentant sinner. All sound principles
OF finance are violated by this Budget, said Mr..
BaIfour sweepingy He omitted to add what is
at least equally true that sound principles OF
morality are equally violated What used TO be
the elementary principles Of honorable politics
are no longer elementary, and no longer princi-
pies.
The Budget now goes into Committee, where
it is tolerably certain 10 be roughly handled
Some Liberals who would not vote against 1t as
a whole will feel themselves at liberty to vote
against details Mr.. Balfour has given fair no
tice that II will be fought TO the end In any
case 1t promises to absorb the greater part OF the
session. and Radicals who have crotchets TO push
are grumbling at the Chancellor Of the Exchequer
because he has made his scheme too contentious;
but they hardly expect confscation TO be
established a method of finance-the Oriental
method as Mr. Bafour called it-without some
opposition.
Such. however is the strained condition Of
things that the obbies of the House rather than
the House Itself have been the centre of interest
There was for one moment earlier in the week
Some doubt whether the Ministry might not be
beaten. That was soon dispelled. 1t known
for two days before the division that the Govern
ment would have a majority. There remained
the interesting question. How much? The debate
turned on one point, the division another.
The leaders on both sides dscoursed on death
duties and graduated taxation. The whips had
70 concern themselves chiefly with beer and spir-
its 1t was foretold from the beginning that the
new sixpence per barrel on beer and the new
sixpence per gallon spirits might bring Bud
get and Ministry to grief They may yet. They
have as a preliminary reduced their majority
from thrty-hve to fourteen.
The Redmondites put themselves in the hands
of the whlskey disters, or. as the Liberal jour
nails say bitterly. preferred whiskey to Home
Rule There is justice in the taunt, but not
much: some. because they have played for the
electoral support of the very powerful distllling
interest In Ireland. not much because Mr.. Red
mond long since gave notice TO the Ministry
that he should turn them out II he could, and
that he thought it for the interest OF Home Runs
they should be turned out. Their detection,
counting eighteen votes on a division, left the
highest possible majority at seventeen. 1t fell to
fourteen by the rather sudden revolt of three Lib
eral brewers, Messrs. McEwan, Beaufoy and Ev-
ershed. These three gentlemen have since been
solemnly read out OF the Liberal party. They
may survive II. since the readers have no au-
thority. They are told they have not only done
their worst to wreck a Ministry they were elected
to support but have imperilled Budget based
on the great democratic principle Of making the
rich pay for the poor. for that is the English OF
graduated taxation" Such is the Socialistic de-
nunciation of men who presume to have opinions
Of their own, or who object to seeing their trade
overtaxed in order that others may not be taxed
at all. They are summoned to resign. The voice
is the same which long time ago summoned
Mr. Gladstone to resign.
The reduction of the Liberal majority in South
Hackney from l244 to 1872 felt to be such Q