The San Francisco call., 1896-10-18
In Contrast Was the Brilliant
Work of Sir William Yer.
non Harcourt.
DUMFoUNDED ALL OPPONENTS.
Frederic Criticizes the Career of Arch.
bishop Benson and Speculates
as to His Successor.
copyright, 1896, by I, e New o. TimesI


LONDON, ENG, Oct. 17.-Lord Rose
bery's coup has not been even nine days
wonder. To speak accurately, it evapo-
rated on the sixth day, and 1t is extremely
safe TO promise that a week hence not an
echo of it will disturb the political atmos-
phere. 1t is true that for the first three
days or so a tremendous hullabaloo was
raised over his Lordship's resignation of
the Lib beral leadership, and many timid
people were frightened into believing that
the party was dead beyond recovery unless
he couIi be induced to withdraw it. This,
however, was merely because the little
group of place-seekers and Whig snobs
who had staked everything on Lord Rose
bery's favor promptly raised a howl so
strenuous as to confuse the public judg-
ment. When this interested wall su bsided
the voices of the real party fighters began
to be heard, and then it was matter of a
few hours for the situation to clear itself.
Under the earlier Impression that the
shouts of Lord Roseoery's squad of re-
tainers had unnerved the whole party
hurried emergency meeting of the Ma
tional Liberal Federation managers was
summoned. They raced to London, i'm
agining that it would be an easy matter to
hustle the Liberal party into penitential
mood, and lead ii out, candle in hand, to
i'm plore his Lordship to forget and forgive.
To their amazement, they found seven
Liberal mem bers OF Parliament out of
every ten saying that it was good rid
dance, and two more waverlng toward the
same opinion. The managers met, ex-
changed sacred confidence, passed a
wholly non-committal resolution and hur-
riedly dispersed. With their departure
r Sc seberyism faded away like wreath of
mist.
That it will not reappear is too much
to say. Snobbery and political cowardice
are inherent in the human breast, and thF
Liberal party of England has more than
its share of both; but doubt If precisely
the same unworthy game can ever be
played again.
Only two months ago England was talk
ing of one of the most remarkable ses-
sions then just endec in modern English
parliamentary history. A ministry
m ars haling the largest majority known
since the time of the reform bill had
fought from February to August, and had
sustained an almost all-round defeat. OF
ten contested measures which it had
brought in, only two had been carried
through. On its chief measure, the edu-
cation bill, it has been utterly routed from
the field. None dare deny that the hero
of this extraordinary session was Sir Will
liam Vernon Harcourt.
Though nearing his SEVENTEEN year he
had never | 1T his post for an hour even
when the sessions had lasted through the
night and till noon next day. His leader
ship was as superb and unquestioned on
the intellectual as the physical side. He
emerged from the final contest like giant
refreshed, and the Liberals, who had en-
tered the session dismayed and utterly
hopeless, came out behind him dunn
founded at the srries of triumphs through
which he had left them. In that hour of
victory one never heard Lord Kosebery's
name mentioned except by way OF Won
dering how most easily to get rid of him.
He had contributed absolutely nothing TO
his party's triumphs, and no one thought
of him except as an incum brance, to be
unloaded when the convenient time came.
As soon as the session ended, however,
the party managers began tryin, to mini
mize Sir William Harcourt's work and to
arrange an occasion for bringing Lord
Rosebery forward again as their chief
The party itself took this with indifference
until it suddenly discovered wrong note
in Lord Rosebery's talk about Armenia.
1t listened then more attentively, and be-
gan to get angry. Then Mr.. Gladstone
swooped down and laid bare to the
party's gaze wnat Lord Roseberv was try-
ing 10 do. Thereafter there was no course
open for him except to get out. As have
said, those who We're too deeply COM
mitted to Lord Rosebery's foriupes to
change sides at an hours notice set up
noisy clamoT but that has died away, and
nothing remains now of the conspiracy of
1893 except a bad taste in the Liberal
mouth.
Py tho tiD,a Po rI;o N, ont n, aats aoo;, c;.
William Harcourt's position as leader of
the Liberal party will be no more ques-
toned than is his natural captaincy of its
forces in t House of Commons.
For some unexplained reasons all the
precedents that have been accumuIating
since the reformation were set aside in the
burial of Arch bishop Benson in Canter-
bury Cathedral. None oil his predecessors
OF Protestant creation lies there to bear
him company. At the time OF the great
upheaval the spoiation of Beckets mag
nificent and then surprisingly rich shrine
at Canterbury produced deep impression
in England. The early Archbishops OF
the new order, though they bore the Can
terbury title and insisted on their amos
tohc succession, wisely managed to see as
little as possible of Canterbury itself and
would not have dared to seek sepulture
there.
This grew into a habit, and why after
$50 years the rule is broken now no one
seems TO know. 1t is certain enough, how
ever, that few years hence this fact that
DR.. Benson, in his burial, set new fashion
will be about the only thing remembered
of him. The gushing floods of eulogy in
the press do not conceal rom anybody the
truth that he was very paItry kind of a
prelate. Perhaps the Queens description
of him as "the dear. kind, excellent
Archbishop" best hits off the popular
conception of him.
His trimming instincts led DR.. Benson
to patch up peace between the various
factions of the church, and especially to
make the ritualists and evangelIcals pre-.
tend 10 shake hands and be fri nds.
This oily smothering of differences pro-
duced a sem blance of harmony inside the
esta blishment, but it was at a heavy cost
of intellectually and spiritual vigor. DR..
Benson leaves the English church TO the
eve more prosperous and contented than
he found it, but with a sorely weakene
hold upon the liking and respect of Eng
lshmen as a whole. Speculation as to
Dr. Benson's successor revolves around
lew names--those of the Bishops of Win
chester, Rochester, Peterborough and
Ripon-but the question is really all in
the dark. 1t might not be impossible to