The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-13
4 REBUKE TO SALISBURY.
OWE PHASE OF THE LONDoN COUNTY
COUNCIL ELECTION.


-
.r, Il, the C~apv.s--Iudtc,ai Gem.
"a, sense In y Case or Doubie-Barreilsd
r,rrmy = ColeridEc's Wee or Borrowed
p,or,-A lawyers sketches-In Africa.
roxpoS, March 4.-Those are days when
= cannot help drawing a long breath Of relief
'. ouittinR Paris for London. An American
..,,s himself more at home under the Union
I.ot than in a town where II ia counted trea-
an to cry "vive Ia Republique." All the world
~ doubt is tired of the lola case and the Drey-
s.,o1air. hut the world Is destined to hear very
-rch more about both. But for the time be-
,,v no lover Of liberty is to be criticised for de-
o,srlne n preference for monarchical govern
wan, as administered in old England above re-
nnb,ican institutions as %exempliied In France.
within The past week I have turned my at
tention from the newest French idolatry. which
"a army worship. to the mild excitement OF q
Iondon County Council election. 1t has been
iite abandoning bsinthe for beer. The contrast
i. between the v extremes Of human emo
,ion. In Paris for weeks It has been ''conspuez"
everybody and everything that stood for Justice
and the republican Constitution. and "vive"
hlncksuards and ambitious opportunities who
would do a hundred wrongs to cover IN orlgi-
mi fault. In London nobody would have
known that a struggle for the governmental con-
,rol OF the worlds metropolis was In progress
II he did not read the newspapers, Even yes
t,rday. polling day. was quito the same as to-
dsy or the day:previous, 30 far as any outward
sien Of public interest was concerned. Never
have ! seen so striking q demonstration Of the
radical and eternal difference between Latins
and Anglo-Saxons as this experience Of the
mast month has furnished.
Turning for the moment to the English side
Of the picture, one is almost appalled, at first
BY the apparent political apathy Of London. It
has boon from the English point Of view q lively
campaign. but only so per cent. af the enrolled
,o,e was polled. The Moderates have lost their
narrow majority, and the Progressives have
mined complete control. Tho Moderates, speak
inE generally, correspond to the Conservatives
In national politics, and tho Progressives to the
Liberals. The Conservative journals waste col
umns Of ink to-day in explaining that this real
" 10 not the case. but II the result had been the
other way, these papers would have insisted
that the election amounted to q great Sails
bury victory.
But I am not going to discuss the partisan as
pect Of the County Council election. I wish to
point out merely that It was possible to trans.
fer the political control OF this great London
from one party to another by popular suffrage,
and all without even q ripple Of excitement and
,ven without changing for an hour the ordinary
aspect Of commercial. financial and industrial
life In tho city. I I'm by no means sure that it Is
sthing to emulate or to be proud of. It suggests
On apathy that tempts to 'jobbery and breeds
corruption. Perhaps It should DO admitted
that the apathy 10 moro apparent than real.
Thousands of stanch Conservatives who arc
also Moderates have taken this opportunity to
l-.tk - - 49,. 1.nl>.~ A.. 0.1th.--
Ministry, an indirect rebuke. Tho members Of
the Government had taken q personal part, un-
precsdented in its activity. in tho London cam
paign. This makes the rebuke all the more
painted. Tho resentment against Lord Sails
bury for the lack Of vigor In his foreign policy
Is much stronger In his own party than in the
Opposition. Hence the great national signif-
canoe Of the result Of tho London election.
There Is another reason for tho apparent
apathy of Londoners with regard to the suffrage.
There is less local pride In London probably than
in any other great city in the world. London
10 too big, too far beyond rivalry for local pride
to exist. Besides. the Englishman conoen.
tates all his patriotism in his country and flag.
The law Of suffrage practically awards q vote
to each house or domicile. not to tho individual
voter. This also tends to limit interest, or
rather to stimulate only q financial interest.
The local or parish authorities spend most of
the taxpayers money, and there 10 often keener
interest shown in the choice Of local vestry-
men than in the election of:County Councillors.
There has oven been q plea for apathy" ad.
unced to-day by Q voter who represents 30
large Q class in London that the point he makes
Is worth noting. He writes:
I did vote for one Moderate candidate, not
because he was Q Moderate, but because I knew
Se waS a tolerSbly sensible person. Tho sec ond
were. FIRST, a man With a German name; sec,
ondiy, a man whom I understand to be q plumb
CT very likely he was not. but [ hateplumb-
Cd to me nothing except pure tea. But / am
BY no means convinced that / acted rightly in
, tSSsdnf at nsi Al, for the plain truth Of the matter e
in London, but it is not my home; and It win
mood, x ! could; / mean to go away as soon as
can, tever the good time comes. 1 pay my
.hd, with equal contentment-not much of it
.5oaid ! DO ss even entitled MRiE Sa TO Votei y Poe .hs W lifs
me 1 cannot see a duty in the matter.
The writer of this note probably voices the SEN
uments OF half the voters in London to-day. Is
en!thing more necessary to explain why mo-
oody In the streets Of the metropolis yesterday
would have known that the political fate of the
CITY for the next three years was being decided
W popular su1raRei
At the Derby Assizes this week that famous
sudge. Sir Henry Hawkins. heard a case which
might be described as one OF double barrelled
o'samy. The prisoners. William and Fanny
bradley were married in 1884. Three months
A'er they separated by mutual consent. In 1891
esch OF them took a new partner, went through
.e marriage service. and the two couples set-
aed down to live within half a mile of each other.
Inc Judge described the case as a scandal.
out ne was not referring to the open breach of
III marriage laws. What scandalized him
vac 'he TACT that the case should ever have been
brought into court.
At nrst blush this looks rather surprising. but
sncIhlStance' provcrbially alter cases. As
.Soh ~ counsel for the prosecution had opened
he,r case Sir Henry asked why the prosecution
. oeen Instituted. II then appeared that at
e'Oronerls inquest upon one of the female pris-
onef ) children this double case of bigamy was
a'cidentally revealed, and in the interests of
su'uce tho magistrates took the matter up.
,neh' 10y means OF n few sharp questions, tho
Judge found that there had been on neither side