The times., 1898-12-26
THE LIBERALS DIVIDED
Story of the Rise and Fall of
a Once Great Party.
GLADSTONE LEFT II WEAK
He Was Truiy the Lnst Real Lender
Il Dcfinitc Purpose In Sir Har-
COURTS RcsiGnafion-An ENpiHni-
tion of Lementabic Conditions-'
Peculiar Attitude of Laboucherc.

London, Dec. 25.-It was with. a sensa-
ton comparable only with that given by
an electric shock that the inhabitants OF
the United Kingdom read In their news
papers the letters OF Sir Wi'liam HarcoGrt
and John Morley. And then ii was seen
that the two great parties of the political
world were in a very strange case. The
one had absorbed so much of the other
and its bulk had grown so huge that Its
chief danger would seem TO be the fate
tina: overtakes the gigantic snowoall when
1t falls to pieces from sheer overgrowth;
while the other, the once great Liberal
party. had Gwindled away 10 me:e shad-
ow of its former self, and the remnant
was apparently in a state of rapid disinte-
grafton.
This situation has been plain enough for
4 long time. 1t was not created by the
noteworthy letters Of Sir William Har-
court and John Morley. nor. indeed, has
it been very much altered by them. Sir
William Harcourt has resigned the leader
ship in the Liberal party in the House of
in his own words. that "a disputed leader
ship, beset by distracted sections and con-
ficting interests, is an impossible situa-
ton
Here from the mouth of its commons
leader we have described the maiady from
which the Liberal party is suffering.
Speaking at Manchester IN Tuesday n!gat,
the irrepressible Labouchere was even
more downright. After accusing the
statesmen Of the LIBERAL party with lie ng
afraid TO move, he added that they
seemed 10 be intriguing as TO VINO won d
be captain OF the rotten, water;ogged tub
in which they were doing nothing"
1t IVES with d definite purpose in vi W
that HarcOurt resigned the Leadership Of
the Liberal party in the House of Com
mons. This was a post 10 which he had
been formally apo sted and which he
could formally abdica,e. To speak Uf mis-
resigning the leadership of the Literal
party In the United Kingdom is incorrect
and misleading. That party has had no
leader since Gladstone retired.
Neither Gladstone nor any other man
has ever been formally appointed the
leader of a party in this sense of he
word. The man who is in that posi.i- II
has got there as inevitably as water
finds its own level. Gladstone was never
appointed to the post. 1t was tis by
virtue of the fact that he and he oniy
commanded the obedience of the wEole
party; in the same way Beacoasfe!d had
The leadership Of the Conservative party,
with Salisbury. who never really over
came his strong antipathy to him, serv-
ing Loyalty under him.
What. then, the Liberal Tarty is suffer
ing from at the present tine is not that
it has no leader, but that 1t is in slch u
condition that It is imposs be for it n
have leader And until majority of
the party shall be sufficiently united to
work under the leadership Of man in
whom their common aspirations are en-
bodied, the Liberal party cannot be said
TO exist as q party; its members may, it
is true, combine with more or less
chiefly less-effect to worry their oppo-
neats. but they cannot aspire 10 the
name of one OF the two great parties in
the state.
The reasons for this iamentable condi-
ton of 4 once great party, though 4 little
complicated. are on the whole fairly plain.
To begin with, the great schism under
Gladstone on account of the home rule bill
shook the party to the base. But so long
as Gladstone remained his potent person
ality held the remnant together. When
Gladstone went his weakness became as
apparent as his strength had been.
The party he left behind him had no
common bond. no common policy; some
old ideas began TO die out. new ideas came
in. and the greatest Of these was imperial
ism. In the Liberal party today there is
The Imperial Liberal OF the Rosebery type,
an up-to-date Liberal with the feeling for
the greatness of empire. II is impossible
for him to pull with Harcourt and Nor
ley. the imposing remnants of the old
Manchester school of politics
Distinct from these again is the Labou-
chere Radical, who demands that no man
who has the misfortune to be n peer shall
be allowed to hold Office as prime minis
ter, whether he be the fittest man in
other ways or no. Labouchere did as
much as anyone to make Roseberys posi-
ton untenable, but now he has little 10
say on behalf of Harcourt. lie is an
anti-Imperialist, but Harcourt was too
complaisant toward the government in
the South African Commission of In
quiry to please him and many others OF
the Liberal party.
And SO one might go through a dozen
subdivisions. Their differences are too
great for them TO combine they cannot
agree on Irish matters, church matters,
the liquor question, or indeed any aues-
tion. In sufficient numbers 10 form a
respectable party. When they have
evolved some big matter or rather when
some big matter has evolved itself amor,;
them, then they viii group themselves
round ii and find that they have both
party and leader.