The San Francisco call., 1895-07-21
PLANS OF THE TORIES
England May Soon Overlook
Her Own Struggles in the
Gathering Clouds.
THAT AFFAIR IN BULGARIA
Once More There Appears Good
Prospect for War In the
East.
Copyrighted, 1895, by the New York Times ]


LONDON, Eng, July 2G.-Ex-Secretarv
H. II. Asquiths turning up with a notably
increased majority is in its way quite as
dramatic an episode on the electoral battle
field as Harcourt's phenomenal tumble at
the very outset of the fight. His defeat
had been so entirely taken for granted that
bets of 10 10 l against him we're offered
satiricalIy in the National Liberal Club
Thursday night amid laughter at the no.
ton that anybody would be silly enough
TO take them. Naturally the amazement
at his victory, which is ably per-
sonal triumph over immense odds, is
promptly followed by the excited conclu-
sion that he is q heaven-sent mortal who
is to lead the Liberals out OF the wilder
ness, and people talk as if he would be
hailed with acclamation at once as the
leader OF the party.
This is not the case. No voice will be
raised when the forlorn remnants of the
party get together in opposition to Har-
courts reelection as the House of Com
mons chief, but undoubtedly events have
thrust Asqu1th forward long way to the
front of everybody else or as heir apparent
to that post.
What is more to the point is that his ad-
vancement destroys practically every ar
gument in favor of the party remaining
committed, etc, to the reputation of the
disastrous Rosebery experiment. If it be
true that the Liberals need young chief
tain, there Is no longer the necessity of
going to the Lords for one. Asquith is
younger still than Rosebery and will have
in the new House of Commons not only
the prestige OF his splendid electoral sue
cess, but the authority, based on the best
administrative work done in any depart
ment of the Liberal Government. His
great fault is certain steeliness of mind
which is apt 10 chill human contact, but
She Liberals no longer attach the import
ance they formerly did to genial mien
and funny after-dinner speeches. Unless
all signs fail Herbert Asquith will be Prime
Minister before Rosebery is.
The discussion as TO the cause of this
overwhelming rout of Liberalism has long
since grown wearisome. If you adopt the
theory that the defeated candidates are
the best judges of what struck them there
is practically the unanimous explanation
of beer, and not only, they say, did the
lower classes rally vehemently in support
of the publicans but the recent conversion
of many of the great breweries into limited
companies has turned thousands of mid
dle-cIass Liberals into small shareholders
or trustees OF brewery stock, to protect
which they and all their friends unhesi-
tatingly deserted the party. 1t certainly
is true that all these brewery stocks have
gone up during the week; but this is only
one phase of the general decentralization
that has been steadily increasing since
Gladstone, falling to command his own
way in the party, left it to its own devices,
and here in London [ fancy the increase of
rates had still more to do with the crash
than the beer issue.
The progressive City Council tried nobly
to make London cleaner, healthier and
more beautiful, but it could not be done
for nothing and the small taxpayers re-
sented the extra cost. There was, more
over, in the poorer districts of London
especially, the grossest public corruption,
some of which will, one is glad to hear, be
brought before the courts. Unfortunately
5000 has to be deposited as a guarantee
before an election petition can be heard,
and if Harry Marks whose victory even
Tories blush at, is allowed to retain his
seat without inquiry it will be because his
antagonist has no money to pay lawyers
Public indignation in his district ran so
high the night of the election that the bal
lots had to be carried into another division
to be counted, for fear that otherwise he
would have been killed by the mob.
The question of what the Tory Govern
ment is to do now that they have this ex-
traordinary majority behind them, is
easily answered. To the best of their
ability they will do nothing. Chamber
lains congenital restiessness may produce
a mock mblance Of legislative activity,
but the dead weight of Tory1sm is heavy
enough to prevent his accom- plishing much
in the way OF change. 1t is thought pos
sible that Sir Michael Hicks Beach, the
new Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is
the special representative of the squir-
archy, may partially undo Harcourt's
death duty work. But these taxes once
laid are rarely RENTED. The school sys-
TEN will suffer most by being pushed fur
ther back into the slough of clerical mas
terry from which it has just begun to
emerge, and an abrupt end will be put to
London's aspirations or unitication and
municipalization of its water and gas sup
Tory talk about distributing the seats on
the basis Of one vote for one value. They
are full Of the idea. This would enable
them to take 200 seats from Ireland, but
this would involve either a repeal or the
fragrant violation OF the act OF union, and
even then it is doubtful if they would not
lose more by the destruction of their own
little rotten boroughs in England and Scot
land than the thing come to.
From all appearances they are going to
try the policy of taffy in Ireland. So long
as the country is quiet, there will be no
attempt to return to coercion, and I hear
much OF an intention to propose abolish
ing Dublin Castle and the Grand Jury
system, giving the Irish County councils
instead of the latter, and sending the Duke
OF York to hold the royal residence in |
place of the Viceroy. They may also pass |
q land bill not greatly differing from John |