Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-08
COMPLICATED. The British Politicians Very Much
 at Sea.
WILL HARCOURT BE PREMIER2
Schemes on Foot to Dust Lord RoSabery-ActiVity of the
 Irish Members.

LONDON, July 7.-tSpecial Cable. IA haze of intrigue so envelops the inner life of parliament that it is impossible to say
 whether or not Sir William Harcourt' s | threats to resign his seat and the leadership | of the liberal party in the house of com- mons are genuine, or who is likely to be | his successor in the event of his retire. ment. It is certain, however, that he has
 sent to his colleagues an intimation that | his physician has advised him to enter
 upon a season of absolute rest, and he,
 therefore, desires to retire from parliament | at the end of the session. But his ad-
 herents in the house of commons are ob- | taining signatures to proposal to enter | tain him at a banquet at the National | Liberal club.
 The promoters of the movement pri- | vately urge that if sufficient number or | liberals sign the invitation 1t will influence | Sir Williams decision to continue in the parliamentary leadership of the party, and nearly 200 liberal members have already signed. The banquet will be limited to 1 mem bers of the house of commons of tue | liberal party, and will be held ostensibly to | celebrate the passage of the budget, but it 1 is really designed to ascertain how many
 members would adhere to Harcourt in a l. struggle to oust Lord Rosebery from the premiership. No member of the cabinet 1 has been solicited to sign the invitation. l The probable outcome will be that Sir Will liam will temporarily retire from parlia-
 7ment, leaving the question of liberal leadership in the house of commons in doubt.
 r.. John Morley, Campbell Zimmerman and | Home Secretary Asquith each has fac l tional following in hls aspirations to the ! leadership, and this Will undoubtedly | threaten to so disorganize the party as to | lead to a united appeal for the return of | Sir William Harcourt. In such an event he could dictate the displacement of Lord ! Rosebery. Referring to the question of his bresignation, Sir William himself tells his | friends that he has not the remotest inten- | ton of going into the housa of lords. If | he returns to politics his labors will be l performed in the house of commons. | Among the complex negotiations in the | lobby of the hou ;e of commons is a pro- | posal that Cham mberlain, at the head of the | bulk of the liberal dissidents, shall return | to the liberal fold aud assume the leader | ship of the liberal party.
 | Very few persons believe, however, that Chamberlain would recant on the question | of home rule for Ireland, and fewer still | believe he " ould ever again be trusted by | the mass of tbe members Of the liberal | party. This report merely illustrates the | internal confusion into which the parties are plunged. The Mccarthy section of the l Irish party, whose solidity of votes and steadfastness of purpose make them n | power in the selection of a new liberal chief, would support John Morley as the l successor of Harcourt.
 Merely is now in Ireland eudeavoring to arrange with land owners a modification of l the evicted tenants bill, but which will be | sufficiently satisfactory to them to induce | them to abandon their opposition to the measure.
 | Justin Mccarthy, with the assent of his colleagues, has consente1 to give the | whole of the next session to British measures, provided the house of commons
 will req affirm the principle of homo rule by l resolution, thus committing the govern 1 ment at the close of the session to go be. fore the country, showing that the leading l features of the Newcastle programme | have been dealt with.
 Money comprising the Paris fund of the l Irish party will not be available for four | months. the French law insisting upon an l interval Of three months between the legal appeal for The ID oney and it's payment. McCarthy's signature will command over e3O, GOO, and for the remainder Patrick 1 Egan's signature is also required. A large | pait of the fund ought to go to the evicted | tenants, but there is no legal or moral req son why portion of the money should not | be devoted to the necessities of the party. The cabinet summoned a meeting of a council on Tuesday to consider Lord Salis- bury's alien bill. In spite uf Lord Rose- bery's strong denunciaton of the anti anarchlst5 section 0f the measure, por- ton of the ministry favor q revival of the alien act of 184S and its application to an archiss, but Lord Salisbury's proposal to give the home secretary supreme power in the matter Of expulsion of foreigners is re- garded as extremely dangerous to the pub | lie peace here or elsewhere, and is univer- sally declared to be altogether too immod- crate.
 In the foreign office there is an unmis- takable tendency to support Japan in her dispute with China in regard to Corea. It is expected on impeachabe authority that the frat sign of China's offering to Rnssia Il change in the lines of frontier in return for Russian assistance against Japan will be the signal for the British to re-occupy Port Hamilton.
 .s The Archbishops of Canterbery and York have issued a summons to all bishops call ing upon them to join the church commit tee which has been organized to resist the movement toward the disestablishment of the church. Lords Sebourne, Asbcombe, Halifax, Cross and host of other peers are backing the bishops and endeavoring 10 unite all churchmen against the discs. lablshment. The ladies of the church are heart and soul n the cause and the whole ecclesiastical machinery is set in motion for the perpetuation of Lhe present church sys- lem. The crusade is the strongest move- ment in defense of the church since the