The morning times., 1897-03-07
IRISH LEADERS TR|CKED
Balfour Keeps Them Out of Dis
cussiOn on Irish Taxation.
BLAKE AND DILLON BLAMED
No Prospect of Factions Sinking
Differences and Unitlng-Nation
ColIection-An Exclusive "Kaffir"
Millionaire Derby Gossip.

| London, March 6.-Mr. Arthur J Baifour,
| the government leader in the House OF
| Commons, has taken advantage of the
| weakness of the Irish leaders to keep them
out of all effective discussions of the Irish
| financial grievances. The one great Irish
| question of the session is virtually sheIyed,
| so far as It can be made use OF against the
! governments new financial relations COM
mission. The blame for this stupid tactical
! blunder must he attributed TO Mr.. Dillon
and Mr.. Blake, who took upon themselves
| the duty of attackingthe government.
| These dispatches have already recorded
how, when the time was most opporuune
| for eliCitlng Il statement as 10 the plans
| of the government by moving an amend
! meut to the address in reply to the queens
/ speech, Messrs. dillon and Blake assented
| to withdraw the amendment, innocently !
| accepting Mr.. Balfour S assurance that IAN
| early day. would be given by the govern
Inent to dicuss the proposed new commits
| sion. Messrs. Blake and Dillon appear to
have thought that this early day would
| be the following week, or, at ali events,
before the terms of reference to the COM
| mission were published and the commission
| constituted. Week after week has passed
| and the Irish leaders find the commits
| sion an accomplished fact, while they and
| their party are forced to remain muzZled
until such time as the government thinks
! fit to allow them voice
The Irish papers say that the conduct
| OF Mr.. BaIfour has caused the greatest
| surprise and dissatisfaction among the
| Irish members. Their surprise is us
! naive as Messrs. Dillon and Blake have
shown themselves ingenious. Mr.. Balfour
pledged himself at the opening of the ses-
sion TO no precise date for the hearing
of the case for Ireland. He still declines
TO fix a date. Mir. Dilon's organs palliate
the futilty OF his lead n this matter, by
referring to a pledge which Mr.. Dillon
has obtained from MFR. Balfour, that the
debate shall come off before the appoint
ment Cf the commission. As matter OF
fact the commission is appointed, though
not publicly eazetted.
Since the announcement of the confer
ence OF the leaders OF all the nationalist
factions a new and adverse element has
been introduced into the councils OF the
from the original idea OF a conference OF
the nationalist sections, has proposed a
general conference, To be held March 9,
which viii include the irish Unionists. Col
Saunderson, Mr.. Horace Plunket, Mr.. Car
son, and other bitter opponents of home
rule will attend this general conference.
Each Irish repre- sentative is to be present
absolutely unfcttered. Mr.. Carson's views
of Ireland's financial position toward Eng
land differ entirely from the nationalist
view. Col. SauudersOn's demands for fl
nancial redress by no means tally with Mr.
Redmonds or Mr.. DilIons ideas. The Irish
unionists are not hostile to the new COM
! mission.
The Nationalists resent the commission
\ as an insult and as n dodge to delay
consideration of their demands, and claim
it is packed as finally to support the
continued despoiling of Ireland Obvi-
I ously this general conference will be
mere empty palaver. If its results We're
] merely negative, there would be nothing
much to regret. Butsit will have the re-
grettable positive effect OF spelling that
l possibility of the reunion of the Nationalist
factions which q conference free. from
Unionists wouldundoubtedly have afforded.
The more the Wallace art collection,
WHICH Has DteH lSil 10 uIlS HtttlOn Is etutiISI
the more priceless are the treasures seen
to be. Had they been offered at single
sale by the heirs, it is the bare fact TO say
that the price of curios all over the world
would have been permanently reduced. All
| of the available money in the world for
art purchases could not have secured all
the articles in the collection at the present
range OF prices. Hertford House, in Lon
don, where they mostly are, is really vast
museum rather than private residence.
! Rembrandt, Van Dyck. VelasqueZ, Murillo
/ and other masters have large gallery to
themselves. So fine is the collection of
4 the modern school that it is said to sur
pass the Luxembourg in the Importance of
it's Frenhc work OF our time
| There are twenty-five masterpieces by
1 Meissonier, thirteen by DeiaToche, over
! thirty by Decamps and several by AIRY
Schaefer. Beyond al this, there is a
/ grand collection of arnor, gold and silver
workmansh Tococo furniture, porcelain
and bronzes. Although happily none of
these will come under the auctioneer's
/ hammer there will be some big art sales
in London this season. Portions of the
collections of the late Baron Hirsch Sir
Algernon Coote and Sir c. Stewart Forbes
: are to be sold. Another interesting sale
this month is that of the original manu-
scripts ofKeat's' End ymion'' and 'Lamia,"
all in the poets handwriting.
Park Lane is rapidly becoming the
favorite site for the palaces of South
African millionaires. Their love for one
another is Illustrated aptly by the action
of Mr.. Alfred Belt in adding a piece of
spare ground to that on which he is to
build his mansion His Characteristic
explanation is that fellow millionaire
announced his intention of building a
house on this bit of land, and the idea
Of the ncghborship was SO displeasng
to Mr.. Belt that he begged the Duke of
Westminster, who is the ground landlord,
not to expose him to such a possibility,
but to find some other purchaser. The
duke, however, refused To be beinfluenced by
any such considerations Eventually Mr..
J Belt had to buy the land himself to
escape having the same sort of a man as
himself living next door
Lord Rosebery has gain the early favor
| ite for this years derbyin Velasquez. But
. ! the probable cause OF the heavy and persis-
tent run on this colt is the fact that Lord
Abingdon and Sir Frederick Johnstone, the
Joint owners o Fesuyian, another excellent
4 horse, are both in precarious health, while
! the owner of Gelteemore, the close second
|