Birmingham age-herald., 1895-03-03
Over the Election of the London
 County Council.
TAMMANY METHODS USED
The Demands of Japan Will Be Denied - Crathie-Elbe In-
 vestigation-Other News.

LONDON, March 2.--[Special Cable Let ter. l--The London county council cam paign, which culminated today in the ball loiing for members, has been lively and more bitter than any municipal contest that has been known in London for great many years. Leading statesmen have en- tered into the fray with the greatest ardor, and have given and taken blows and lost their temper with the same freedom that local bosses are wont to do. In the pre- vious county council contests only about one-third of the total number of voters have gone to the polls, but the party man. agers on both sides have all along pre- dicted thata much larger vote would be boiled today than ever. Ia consequence of the fact that the conservatives are urging their supporters to vote for the candidates on the moderate ticket it is expected that the result will greatly lower the majority of the progresslves in the council, which, as the result of the last election, was forty six, the council standing eignty-two pro- gressives to thirty-six moderates.
 Among the moderate candidates are Lords Cadogan, Churchill, Durham Amp hill, Donoughmore, Dudley, Norfolk, Dunraven and Montmorres and Sir J. Blundell Maple. The progressive candi- dates include Lords Russell, Mopkswell anu hlDDleSOHlos DIT JOuu Messrs. John Burns and Sydney Webb.
 The Chronicle, the leading progressive organ prints in italics list of the reasons why electors should not give their support to the moderates. The first of these req sons is that the moderates are the party of "Tammany." The term 'Tammany' has been God-send to both sides during the campaign. When their speakers have exhausted themselves and their vocabula. ries in the ordinary methods of attack upon their opponents they have invariably had recourse to stigmatizing the opposite can didate as "Tammany.
 CHAMBERLAIN ATTACK.
 Joseph Cham berlain, in a recent speech in behalf of the moderates, made an attack uponithe progressives for having increased the salaries of the attaches of the county council, which action, he declared, was thorough "Tammany' method. He then proceeded to advocate a system of separate municipalities for the different districts of London and urged against the proposal that central council include within it's jurisdiction the city corporation. What Its advocates call unification, he said, would end in "Tammanifcation.' All this is scarcely relevant, for the progressive policy is undoubtedly favored by great majority of Londoners.
 WANT IT KEPT OUT or POLITICS.
 Commoners Burns, Stewart, Benn and Buxtou of London, who are all home fuIeTs, dT6 CuhTg6u WILL very functions, as London sends thirty-six unionists to parliament against twenty three home rule members. At the same time there Is large progressive majority in the county council, and from th1s 1t IS evident that the electors want the mupic- ipal government kept out of politics. In addition to this some Of the progressive members have made themselves vastly un- popular through,their persistent meddling in small matters.
 T An instance of this was furnished re- gently in some of those members hiding themselves in the bushes in the park whence they watched the park keeoers. As result of their spying they reported to the council that they had seen keepers in the act of eating their luncheon at other times than the usual lunch hour. This matter was taken up and the outcome of it was that a circular was issued with a sanc- ton of a majority of the council requiring all workmen under the jurisdiction of the council to report to the council what they did and how they passed the time during the hours they were not working.
 CAUSE FOR NPoPULARITY.
 Then, too, the activity of the progressive element in the matter of refusing licenses to music halls has not tended to increase the popularity of the party. Nevertheless the progressives have the advantage, inas- much as the moderates have no really de- signed policy. They have allowed them- selves to be run by the gas, water, tramwsy and livery companies, all of which, fore- seeing that they will be absorbed by the municipal govern ment, are seeking to secure a majority in the council that will give them extravagant compensation for their plants out of the rates, and doubtless these com mpanies will sec to 1t that their side wins. 6
 PEACE COMMISSION WILL FAIL.
 There Is a general feeling in the foreign office that the peace mission headed by Ii Hung Chang will not be successful. Russia has absolutely vetoed the proposal oi Japan to annex Corea, and 1t is understood that Japan now wants possession of the area be- tween the Yalu and Lioa rivers in order to form a buffer state extending to the Rus. sian frontier of Amoor, Russian Man churia, which territory now forming 8 part of utheastern Siberia was acquired by Russia from China and Japan in 1858. This moveJ if successful. would secure to Chinese fusnce, possession. of Port Arthur A,d command of the Yellow Isea road to Pekiu. Japan also asks for posses sion of Formosa. The details of Li Hung Chang's credentials, which will be com. municatsd to the western powers, do not empower him to cede either Manchuria or Formosa to Japan.
 A PLEASING APPOINTMENT.
 The appointment of Prince Lobanoff- Rostovski as Russian minister of foreign affairs has greatly pleased the foreign office here. Since the death of M. DeGiers 1t has become clear that there exists in the Rus. sian foreign office powerful party in op- position to the Armenian inquiry, wishing Armenian affairs to-drift along as hereto fore until Russia is compelled to intervene. She would then be step nearer to the Per sian gulf. England is very strongly op- posed to Russian occupation of Armenia alone, and believes that Prince Lobanoff favors joint diplomatic action fn that ter- ritory.
 THE CRATHIE-ELBE INyEsTIaATIoN.
 The inquiry into the movement of the steamer Crathie in connectton wtt4 hef collision vilh tho q mar Eslbe. which 16