New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-15
LONDON UNITY.
THE PROGRESSIVE TRIUMPH A GOVERN
MENT NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. CHAM
BERLAIN AND RosEBERY-
THE MASSES AGAINST
TUT GLASSES

THE MASSES AGAINST
THE CLASSES.
London. March 3.
IT,. rouerkaple triumph of the Progressive
or,r in tho municipal elections this week Is
se,,sfac,ory assurance that the orderly course
- r,rn,c,nal development, which has been in
1900 during the last three years. will not
y. rave-sed. but continued. Lord Salisbury has
rao.,ves n crushing answer TO his challenge OF
,.. Sovernber which was based upon the fall
80, ., the reform canvass in New-fork. Lon
A., hos not been confused by the misleading
a,os,o. 81 American politics and has sternly
r.,,,sed 70 confess that II 10 incapable OF gov
.rn,ns Itself by means OF a centralized council
and administration. and that 1t must be divided
into series OF twenty or more independent
municipalities A Moderate majority OF two in
,he outgoing County Council has been converted
,r,o a Progressive majority of twenty In the
row Council with two representatives still 10
- elected in the Progressive division Of Central
Hackney and ten Aldermen TO be chosen by the
members After this decisive reputation OF the
rolicy OF dlsmemberment. the Government Dill
Cav the incorporation OF vestries and the gori-
acaton Of Bumbledom will probably be deferred,
a. least for three years.
The personal aspects Of this London election
are most interesting The two leaders OF the
1-nionist party, Lord Salisbury and Mr.. Cham
h.r,ain have been discredited and mus, suffer
loss oe prestige. while the former Liberal leader.
Lord Roseberv, has suddenly emerged from re-
,rement and shown himself TO be the one man
on his side capable Of making sagacious and
effective use Of a great political opportunity
GA card players have a maxim: The cards
rever forgive: and a worse misplay than has
ben made in the Unonis, game by the unneces-
e tonic
government of London has not been witnessed
IN recent English politics. Lord Salisbury was
nr,narilv at fault in this msplay, but Mr..
chamberlain stood behind him and advised It.
pa,ween them the signal was raised for
municipal campaign on National lines which
speedily degenerated into struggle OF the
classes against the masses. The Liberal lead
ers Of the front Opposition bench were shrewd
enough to perceive that they ought not 70 FOL
low the Ministers IN plunging into munlc>pal
contest. and they wisely remained out OF IL.
Lord Rosebery being out OF party ponies was
IN a position TO intervene with authority ana
,o,ver On III, eve OF the election: and his states
-,e,,,l,A sneech was faultless in Judgment and
unanswe-able In argument He was peculiarly
favored by his position Of splendid isolation,
lu, he has suddenly doomed UP as the champion
and leader OF the masses in success.ui cam
paign against vested interests. corporation
monopol,es. traditional privilege and ground
rents.
There is a popular puzzle sold in the streets
OF London. with Lord Salisbury In hiding some
whore in the poke; of Mr.. Chamberlain The
relations Of these statesmen may be what they
may on other questions. imperial and domestic
hu, they certainly have been In sympathetic
.ou.h With each other in the recent onslaught
uron a. London County Council. Lord Sails
bury k not, however. TO be taunted with lack
c. responsibility in initiating a policy when
las been condemned ny the voters OF London.
his speech before the National Union OF Con-
ss-vative Associations a: Albert Hall last NO
venber was his authoritative announce
nnent Of a Cabinet decision 10 take up the ques-
,,on 81 London government at the approaching
sccsicn OF Parliament. He never prepares him
sci, carefully for public address. and on that
occrsion undoubtedly said more than he meant
TO ray and has paid the penalty for his indis-
e!ston in thinking aloud. His colleagues were
.,art,ed by his destructive criticism Of the Lon
don County Council and especially by his fun
damen;al proposition that the metropolis was
not che great municipality. but an aggregate
~ Municipalities. They subsequently brought
forward the Duke OF Devonshire TO explain
avav in hIs cold measured way what had been
said and 10 vouch for the fact that the Prime
Minister had been misunderstood. il was 100
late for an orderly retreat. The ProgressYes
lad raised the cry that London was in danger
and by this sign they have won the municipal
battle.
Lord Salisbury was his own master and not In
anvbody's pocket when he was laundering at
Albert Hall and drawing misleading morals
from the New-York election. Nevertheless. the
ideas end motives were those Of MI Chamber
lain The Birmingham municipal retormer had
never taken any active interest In the unihca-
ton % London nor concealed his opinion that
while q population Of half million or even a
million might be governed by central municipal
council the system would break down under its
own weight when applied TO so large and so
nopu,ous an area as the metropolis. Before the
Albert Hall speech was delivered Mr.. Chamber
lain had lent his support TO the movement for
incorporating Westminster Kensington and
other sections of London as independent cities
He was fully committed 10 the policy OF decen-
tralization before Lord Salisbury satirized
Megalomania and foreshadowed a Government
measure for the creation Of a Milky Way OF
London municipalities. The main arguments
employed by Lord Salisbury were those which
Mr. Chamberlain had previously used.
Mr. Chamberlain may have his faults. but he
never lacks the courage Of his convictions. He
deliberately chose the evening when Aoiu fNose-
berry speaking at st. James's Hall for an ad-
dress OF his own In Camberwell, where ne was
born. The Conservative press made much OF 1t
the next morning as antidote TO the insidious
poison Of Lord Rosebery's speech, with its So
called Sociallstc bacilli but Camberwell does
not appear TO have been favoraoly impressed
with H. for in the elections IL was Progressive IN
the ratio Of nearly two 10 one. il was fighting
speech addressed TO the narrow selhshness and
local pride Of a district which he thought had
not sufficiently profted by the work OF the
County Council. Mr.. Chamberlain In these days
Is always followed and embarrassed by the
shadow OF his former Radical self; but seldom