The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-07-15
Chief Secretary Balfour's Action
Is Attributed to Bad Man
agement.
SECOND MEASURE WRECKED
Chamberlain's Course Is Sharply Crit.
c1zed by Political Leaders
and the Press.

LONDON, ENG, July 14.-The with
drawa1 of the amendments to the Irish
land offered by Gerald Balfour, Chief Sec
rotary for Ireland. is being sharply criti-
cized by friends of the Government and
has caused much rejoicing among the
radicals, whose supporters in newspaper
circles are ryioicing over the Governments
discontinue.
The Times, a Government paper, attrib-
utes the action of Mr.. BaIfour TO bad
management.
The Daily News predicts that the amend
ments withdrawn will be added to the bill
by the House of Lords, and that by the
application of closure they will be forced
through the House of Commons.
The general belief is that Joseph Cham
berlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies,
is responsible for the withdrawal of the
amendments by his support of 7. W.
Russell, the Ulster UDionist leader, IN his
objections thereto, thus inducing Mr..
Balfour to rescind them.
The Standard (Conservativ which is
also warm supporter of the Government,
commenting upon the impossibility of
carrying through all the measures which
the Government has included in its pro-
/ x
| forthwith. 1T is hard,'' says the STAN
dard, Ito massacre the innocents, but
there is no kindness in allowing them to
finger to an inglorious end"
The political situation has been only
partially relieved by the yielding of Ger
aid Balfour to the pressure for modifca-
| ton of the amendments to the land bill.
! There is continuance to-day of the de-
mands of Mr.. Russell and others for fur
Their notifications of the measure, while
! the press and people generally are giving
expression to sentiments of extreme dis
gust at the feebleness displayed by the
! Government. Many Conservatives admit
that if 1t were not for the hopeless dIVi.
sions that exist between the Liberals and
radicals the Government would be in
! serious plight, as the land bill Is the Sec
ond Government measure of supreme i'm
| portance introduced at this session of Par
/ lament which is now being wrecked on
! lines laid down by the Government. A
| few more bills like the education bill and
the Irish land bill, if wrecked by pressure
within the party, will be sure to, bring the
i Conservative party to such difficult pass
as Will necessiIate the reconstruction of
the Ministry, an end to which Mr.. Cham
berlain, who supplies the real force of the
present pressure, would not object.
T. 2. O'Connor, discussing this subject
in his paper, the Sun, to-day says:
"The plain truth is that, though Mr..
Russell was the ostensible agent of this
collapse, the whole affair was a personal
triumph for Chamberlain and the landlord
ring. The Cabinet would have paid little
attention to Russell's protest, as with
their large majority in the House of Com
mons they could easily afford to disregard
the clamor of few Ulster men. But Rus
sell is Joes protege and follower, and Bal
four, who would scott at the idea of being
disconnected by Russell, retires from the
lfcfo hofO L.
not afford to lose a supporter, he has cum
ningly seized the chances to assert him.
self and his friends and to humiliate the
house of Cecil