Birmingham state herald., 1896-04-26
The Proposed Change of Taxa
 ton on Land
WILL MEET WITH OPPOSITION
It Is Proposed to Abolish the Irish Vceroyalty and Apply the Salaries to the Dis
 tresSed Districts.

udyS dSO III lu0 HOuSt Ol COfuillOHs, which measure provides for a radical change in the taxation on land. Besides a number of liberal unionists who have announced that they will not support the bill, several conservative members who represent urban constituencies are likely to vote with the opposition. The minis terialists say that the seeessions will not exceed a dozen, but the liberals expect that on this bill the normal government majority will be reduced by fully 50 votes The Irish nationaistS will vote solidy against the measure.
 All this however, will not prevent the government from securing a majority when the bill comes up on its second reading Monday, but the opposition to the proposals will compel the government to accept amendments when the bill reaches the committee. This will prove disappointing to the Tories, who had hoped to have the bill pushed through in the form in which it was originally intro duced. Sir Henry Hartley Fowler, lib- eral, for some time president of the local government board and also secretary for India, will lead the opposition by offering an amendment which will be tantamount to the rejection of the bill. MT. Whitely, a conservative gives notice of an amend ment that he will offer which will be more dangerous to the government than that of Sir Henry Fowler for the reason that it will afford the unionists represent ing towns an excuse to oppose the bill MT. Whitely said it would be clear that it is desirable before giving permanent relief to one class of property to refer the whole question of rating to a royal com mission. The Rt. Hon. Henry Chaplin president of the local government board who introduced the measure, will try to counteract this amendment by the transparently insincere promise that the question of urban rating might be con- sidered in the future.
 Advices from Cape Colony are to the effect that it is the intention of Mr. Hoff- meyer, the Afrikander leader, to make motion in the legislature of Cape Colony approving an offensive and defensive all liance between the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. He will further de- mand the withdrawal of the charter of the British South Africa company. The prospects of the British regime in South Africa are not of the brightest. Though MT. George N. Curzon, parliamentary secretary of the foreign office, declared in the house of commons Thursday that the negotiations concerning Venezuela were still proceeding, it is a fact that a delay has occurred. The cable dispatch to the Times alleging that they had been stopped altogether went too far The for eign office denies that it proposed a cessation of the negotiations and attrib- uteS the delay to unavoidable causes, which inquiries indicate to be Lord Salisbury's weakening health, combined With great pressure of work.
 The secession of the Healyites from the anti-Parnellites has now become defnitive. The party whips have in formed Hr. Healy and his friends that they can no longer attend the meetings of the followers of MT. Dillon and that they are at liberty to take independent action in every way. There will now be three Irish factions, each of which will amendments tn all Irish questions. There will be no reliable CO., operation among themselves or with their liberal allies The discord will as- sist the government in placing the Irish land bill among the last of the impor- tant measures of secession, the result of which will be the postponement of the consideration of the bill until 1897.
 Another important matter has sudden ly come to the front. The proposal to abolish the Irish viceroyalty in Ireland finds the Irish at loggerheads on the question. Since MT. Davitt suggested during the debate on the Irish estimates on April IT that the viceroy and his household be abolished and their salaries allotted to the congested districts bill and the intimation of the chief secretary for Ireland, Mr. Gerald Balfour, that the government was willing to consider the matter, several private conferences have been held between the Irish peers and the Irish unionist members of the house
 
 engagement for the holding of general convention in May to decide the ques- tion. The movement is approved by a number of the English members of the house of commons. Associated with the abolition of the viceroyalty is proposal to grant enough money to establish a a royal residence somewhere in Ireland, preferably the country, and also to hold yearly drawing rooms in Dublin. The estimated cost will be f50,000 yearly. l-&xI unless there is good assurance that the change will be popular.
 Sir Graham John Bower, the imperial secretary of Cape Town, will sail today on his return to South Africa. He takes with him peaceful assurances from MT. Chamberlain to the local government. The agitation for the dismissal of Sir Hercules Robinson, the governor of Cape Colony and British high commissioner to South Africa has not the support of MT. Chamberlain. On the contrary, he con- CUTS in Governor Robinson's efforts te keep the Boer government sweet. At the same time Sir Graham Bower is in- structed to announce that the imperial government intends to increase the de- lenses and add to the garrison at Cape Town. Maj-Gen. Sir Frederick Caring ton. who was recently appointed to the command of the campaign against the Matabeles, accompanies Sir Graham Bower on the voyage to the cape.
 It is understood that the pleas of guilty entered Thursday by the leaders of the Johannesburg reform committee, who were indicted at Pretoria for high treason and Iese majeste, resulted from secret arrangement by which light sentences will be imposed upon them. President Kruger obtains double advantage from the admission that has been made by Col oneI Rhodes, one of the prisoners, who duplicates his brother, Cecil Rhodes, in the conspiracy and by his opportune dis play of clemency. It Is reported here that the Boers are certain to reap money advantage through the plea of the prisoners.
 Lord Cromer, the British diplomatic agent in Egypt, has been summoned to London in order to confer with Lord Sal isbury, the Marquis of Lansdowne, sec lretary of state for war; General Lord wolsaley, commander-in-chief of the British army and General Sir Redvers Butler, who will command the operations in the Soudan. Until the conference de- termine the exact proportions of the mill itary operations in the autumn, neither the foreign office nor the war office will take any further measures for an ad- vanca into the SOudan. The crisis in