The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-01
The Most Embarrassing Feat
ure Is the Recently De-
posed Premier.
A DROUGHT OF TWO. MONTHS.
Passage of Law Designed to Make
Partisan Journalism Less
Indecent.
Copyright by The New York Times, 1895

|
gentlemen who will face the necessity of
drawing large checks in favor of returning
officers next month, this great crisis
through which we have been passing all
the week is really not very exciting. No
doubt the papers are right in describing it
as momentous and historic, but it is rather
dull. [ suppose the truth is that Lord
| Rosebery's Ministry was sick so long, and
| taxed the patience of nurses and watchers
through such YEARLY protracted period,
and all without the faintest hope of any
body being mentioned probable in the will,
that the final catastrophe finds the
| mourners mourning large alloy OF relief
| with these perfunctory tears.
| 1t will be another week or ten days
before the public wakes up and displays
genuine interest in the new developments.
First of all, it should be said that the
coming contest is not at all the one-sided
affair that it is popularity supposed to be.
The one embarrassing feature in the
| Liberal outlook is Lord Resebery himself.
If he would drop even the faintest hint
that he was tired of political life and in
tended to withdraw new fighting spirit
would leap like an electric fluid through
the whole Liberal organization. His fail
ure to do this forces his party to speculat-
| ing as to how he will be got rid of and
| interfere with their calculations of how to
| with beat the common enemy, and this is
not helpful.
| But they are all swearing to one another
| that he shall never, never be Premier
again, and if this becomes conclusive
enough in the understanding inside the
party they may pluck up heart to go on,
make their fight and leave the question of
deposing him to the future. 1t is impos-
sible to say what they will lose by this
handicap of Lord Rosebery's unfortunate
personality. If that can be put aside or
tacitly ignored there is no reason for the
assumption that they are bound to be
beaten. They will lose something in
Scotland, most likely, and in Lancashire.
There are two opinions about London, and
the prevailing one is in favor of Liberal
losses, but this, too, seems to me to be by
no means certain.
On the other hand it is not improbable
that gains in Wales will offset Scotland,
and numerous acquaintance of mine who
have been working adverse English con-
stituencies tel me that they expect to win
this time. 1t is far too early to make an
intelligent forecast. At this stage it is
enough to say that there will be good
fight and all the chances are by no means
on one side.
1t is question of tactics whether the
Armenian issue will be sprung next week
or withheld until the dissolution July 8.
This card has been described in these dis
patches for a long time as being up the
Liberal sleeve. There is now deep anxiety
as to the manner in which it will be played.
1t seems settled that Mr.. Gladstone is to
do it. Lord Salisbury speech at Bradford
while ago, in which he practically backed
up the Turk, has ranked in the old war
horses veins ever since, and | am told that
he has thought of nothing since but how
to assail him most effectively for it. This
rapt eagerness for battle against the Turk
was displayed in a curious fashion, at the
beginning of the week, when Gladstone
could hardly be restrained from going to
the House of Commons on his arrival at
London, and went that same night and
dined with Lord Rosebery in Downing
street, staying until nearly midnight.
Considering that he scarcely mentioned
Roseberys name in private talk and never
once publicly since he was jockeyed out of
office, and, as their personal relations have
been formal, almost to the point of frigidity,
this is extremely significant. Nothing but
Armenia could have effected this striking
change in the proud old statesman's pos
ture toward his successor and toward the
party which had deserved his help so
little. Perhaps in farewell letter to his
constituents of Midlothian, perhaps before,
he will throw the tremendous weight of
his authority into the campaign. This is
to be counted with as factor in the prob
lem which may swallow up all the Others
as in 1874.
Ireland, 1 think, is all right. The
result in Cork is not at all to be taken as
showing great growth in the Parnell-
ties strength. What it does show is
popular disgust at William O'Brien's
behavior and dismay at the folly of his
Parliamentary committee friends in
nominating old Xavier Brien, silly old
man whose faulty created the whole
Tweedmouth check scandal. to. succeed
him. Elsewhere in Ireland there will be
Parnellite losses instead of gains, and.
sanguine Nationalist: count On ut. least.
sixty-five seats to be won from the. q ories.
and five from the Parnellites. Th ere are
also negotiations for q. deal between the.
Nationalist and Parnellites: to-. join
taking St. Stephen Green, ;Dlblili,.. away.
from the Tories. .::.::: * .:
In any case it seems beyond doubt. that:
the Nationalist will return with increased.
ranks and, what is infinitely more to the.
point, it is tolerably certain that Healy will
have a majority in that body. If this hap
pens, then the Irish national cause will
have chance of real and tangible success
for the first time since Parnell ceased to be
its recognized exponent. Sextons renewed
declaration that he has retired from public.
life is merely his way OF protesting against
the proposed substitution of William
O'Brien for himself as editor of the Free
mans Journal. People in Ireland are
skeptic. about it's meaning more, but they
could bear even other designations than his
with equanimity.
To turn to the other side of the shield
people observe that there have been sixteen
persons, half of them peers, put into the
stop-gap Cabinet, but their attention is con-
centrated on two only, Chamberlain and
Salisbury. OF the rest it may be said
briefly that they embrace fewer deadheads