Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-10-21
TORIES ON THE ANXIOUS SEAT.

WH6u tud' DOuy mCStS, " nave
charges preferred against them for
expressing sympathy with the
Beers and disapproval of the Gov
ernment's policy and acts in the
Transvaal question, is significant
when the meaning and effect is
understood. When such charges
are preferred against a member OF
Parliament he is deprived of voice
and vote in Parliament pending the
charges. Therefore, if those Irisi,
members are so charged they will
be silenced, and their anticipated
opposition to approving the position
and acts of the British Government
and voting authority and money to
carry on the war in the Transvaal
averted. 1t certainly can not be
that such drastic measures are to be
resorted to because the Government
fears the opposition of the Irish
members-about one twentieth of
the membership of Parliament-if
the English people of all parties are
united aud enthusiastic for war, as
is reported from London, for the
Irish minority in Parliament, being
so small, could make no effective
opposition, nor even delay action il
the majority are united and enforce
the rules.
But despite reports, the English
people oil all parties are not united
in approval of the Government
policy in the Transvaal. As a
matter of fact, the whole foreign
and colonial policy of the Salisbury
Government is and has been disap-
proved and condemned by Liberals
and Unionists. several of their
leaders having publicly condemned
the Government course in the
Transvaal as we'll. If the Irish
members are silenced when Parlia-
ment meets, it can be only for the
purpose of preventing them from
formulating embarrassing questions,
raising points and opening the way
for debate, which may result in a
unifying of the opposition upon
some basis to compel the Govern
ment to modify, if not materially
change, its foreign and colonial
policy.
In any event, there would be de-
lay of approval of the policy and
acts thus far of the Government,
and in granting the authority and
money needed to prosecute the war,
while general debate of the ques-
ton would result in embarrassment
and humiliation of the Tory Min
istry, already on the defensive on
its foreign policy, and place the
party in an unpromising position
for the political campaign in Great
Britain, already deferred, and which
can not be deferred much longer.
Then it is possible, though not
probable, that Parliament and the
Government may so far fail to agree
as to cause the. proroguing of Par
lament and the reference of the
issue to the people in an election
for a new Parliament-a test of |
popular sentiment which the Tory
leaders dread, have avoided by post
poning the Parliamentary election
expected last spring, and will do
their utmost to avert now.
But politics is politics the world
over. in England as we'll as else
where, and the opposition parties in
England are at least united in their
disapproval of the foreign and
colonial policy of the Government,
and are anxious and will doubtless
seek to embarrass the party in
power as much as possible on the
very issue in which it is weakest
and most vulnerable, and avail
of every opportunity to
force an appeal to the people in