The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-12-25
DECLINE OF THE LIBERALS.
r,vcoURT,S RESIGNA TIoN AND HIS
BROKEN PhRTE.

Murderer OF tho Austrian Empress.
tovpov. Dec. lit was with n sensatlon
.omnoroble only with that given by nm electric
.hors that tho Inhabitants Of the United King
soyr last Wednesday morning read In their
s.wsnancrs the letters OF Sir William Hnr-
.orrt and John Morley. And then Il was seen
,h.t the two great parties OF the political world
,n-e in n very strange ease. Th one had ALB
sorbed 40 much OF the other md its bulk had
,rvn SO huge that it's chief danger would
..,n to be he fate that.overtnkes the'gigantlo
srovbnll when IL falls 10 pieces from sheer
ovsrprovth; while the other. the once great
J,herol party. had dwindled away TO a nero
,hodov of It's former self, and the remnant
wa. apparently In N state OF rapid disintegra-
ton.
This situation has been plain enough for q
,,py timc, II was not created by the note
worthy letters OF Sir William Harcourt and
lam Morley. nor. indeed. has itlbcen very much
altered by them. Sir William Harcourt has
resigned the leadership of the Liberal party in
,e House uf Commons. after cominR to the
conclusion, in his own words. that "a dis
nuted leadership. beset by distracted sections
and conflicting interests. is an impossible
s,u,tlon." Here from the mouth OF It's Com
mons leader we have described the malady
from which the Liberal marty is suffering.
gmaking at Manchester on Tuesday night the
,,repressible Labouchere was even more down
right. After accusing the statesmen OF the
liberal party with being afraid to move. he
added that they seemed to be intriguing as
IN who was to be Captain OF the rotten. water
logged tub In which they we're doing nothing"
Not all the Members OF the Liberal party ap-
prove OF this washing Of the party's soiled
linen In public. The Speaker. the organ Of Sir
Wemyss Reid. the Reform Club and what
=. u ~. . "a
srets that Sir william and Morley have nov
fallen short OF their own reputation. As for
those passages in their respective letters which
refer darkly to some mysterious intrigues OF
which Sir william Harcourt has been the VIC
tim. and to agencies working not only In iR-
porance OF the truth but In defiance Of 1t. we
can only deplore most heartily the fact that
they have been written.' But the impartial
onlooker must admit hat the evidence OF per-
svnal intrigue Is very strong. The Harcourt
faction made Rosebery's position tooshot for
him to hold. and now Nemesis Is overtaking 1t.
1t was with a definite purpose in view that I
uld that Harcourt had resigned tho lie leadership
Of the Liberal party in the House OF Commons.
This was a post to which he had been formally
appointed and which he could formally abdl-
cate. To speak Of his resigning the leadership
Of the Liberal 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 the word. The man who Is in
that position has got there as inevitably as wa
ter finds its own level. Gladstone was never
appointed to the post. 1t wBs his by virtue OF
the fact that no and no only commanded the
obedience OF the whole part in the same
way Beaeonsfeld had the leadership OF the
Conservative party. with Salisbury. who never
really overcame his strong antipathy to him.
serving Loyalty under him.
What. then. the Liberal party Ia suffering
from at the present time is not that 1t has no
leader. but that it Is in such a condition that
II is impossible for 1t to have a leader. And
until a majority OF the party shall be sufficient
ly united to work under the leadership Of o
man In whom their common aspirations are
embodisd. the Liberal party cannot be said to
exist as a party; Its members may. 1t Is true.
combine with moro or less. chiefly less. ~effeotto
worry their opponents. but they cannot aspire
to the name OF one Of the two great parties In
the State.
The reasons for this lamentabls condition OF
once great party. though a little complicated.
arc on the whole fairly plain. To begin with.
the great schism under Gladstone on account
q the Homo Rule bill shook the party to the
base. But 40 long as Gladstone remained his
potent personality held the remnant together.
When Gladstone went. his weakness became
as APPARENT as his strength had been. TIL
party lie left behind him had no common bond,
no common policy: some old IDEAS began 10
dts ont, new ideas came In. and the greatest
Of these was Imperialism. In the Liberal
rarty to-day there is the Imperial Liberal of
the EoseherY type. an up-to-date Liberal with
aieeling for the greatness Of empire. 1t Is i'm
possible for him to pull with Harcourt and
Morley. the imposing remnants OF the Old
Manchester school OF politics. Distinct from
these again is the Labouchere Radical. who de-
MAIDS that no man who has the misfortune to
he a peer shall he allowed to hold Office as
Prime Minister. whether he be the fittest man
In other ways or no. Labouchere did as much
as any one to make Rosebery's position W
tenable. but now he has little TO say on behalf
M %Harcourt. He Ia an anti-Imperialist. but
harourt was too complaisant toward the
Government in the South African Commission
Of Inquiry to please him and many others OF
the Liberal party.
And 10 one might go through a dozen sub
divisions, Their differences are too great for
them to combine. they cannot agree on Irish
matters. church matters. the liquor question.
or Indeed any question. In sufficient numbers
form a respectable party. When they have
evolved some big matter. or rather when some
big matter has evolved itself among them. then
uey will group themselves round 1t and ind
mat they have both a party and a leader.
With the Picquart and Dreyfus problems
iui. Tor them. unsolved. 1t were vain perhaps
+" ask frenchmen to turn their attention to
me liquor question. Yet II they did 80 they
might find some interesting DEVELOPMENTS.
IN 1874 the number OF drinking establish
ments in France was 342.9S0. without count
ing Paris, which vas responsible for about
hf"ooo' Since then. although the population
mas remained about stationary. the liquor
snols have increased In number greatly. In
IS" the total number was 432.047. which rep
'rsehts an Increase OF "a per cent.
WIN respect to the quantity OF wine con-
suNed by individuals. Boulogne. sur-seine Is
~ 'hs proud position OF top OF the list. with
tne respectable allowance Of 6SH gallons a
"0au' Next In order come Nice. Saint Etienne.
u,ehoble, Troyes. Toulouse and finally Paris.
"nefe the annual amount consumed Is 44.6