The times., 1899-05-21
NEW ENGLISH POLITICS.
Lord Roscbery's Fight for Broader
Libernifsm.

Lord Roscbery's Fight for Broader
Libernffsm.
London. May 2O.-The eve OF holiday is
always the harvest time of the political
sensationalist. and this week, when Par
Lament and people sare packing up for the
Whitsunday tide rscess.g has been no ex-
ception TO the rule. Parliament. We have
been told. is to be dissolved that the Gov
ernment may snatch a fresh lease of life
from a eomplacent electorate while Liber-
alism is still without head and without
policy In proof of this. we have been
referred to the resignation from the Lon
don County Council OF Captain Middle
ton, the chief organizer of the Tory party,
and 10 special activities among the work
ers of both party machines. There is no
ground for these suggestions The Min
| istry has three more years OF office TO en-
| joy, and il sees no reason at present why
| it should not enjoy them to the full.
Sir Michael Hicks Beachs higgling bud
get and his rebuffs to Cecil Rhodes over
| the African railways, to financiers wor-
4 rying about the stamp duties, TO Austria
1 liza over the wine duties. and to the colo
nies generally over the Pacific cable, have
| provoked some degree of heat and accen-
tuated sectionalsm in the Cabinet, but no
one thinks or talks OF upsetting the party
| in consequence. or in any other way has
! tening a dissolution.
In truth, the minds of politicians are be-
! ing directed just now beyond the party
/ fights of the moment to the very palpable
changes which are coming over English
| public life, rendering old party cries obso-
| lete and old party divisions quite out of
| date. Lord Rosebery. with foresight rare
in politicians has seen this and has raised
| the banner of the new imperialism. round
which he expects to rally the most pushing
men of both Liberalism and Toryism.
| Theirs is not the Imperialism of the Ro-
man or Beaconsteldian order with Eng
land as the ruler of subject States and
! races, but Imperialism based on the idea
OF England as first among equals, the
senior partner; and there are, beyond quss-
| ton. signs of the English electorate get
ting bored by the personal riyalries and
party recriminations into which politics at
| Westminster have now sunk. They crave
for something real to fight about, and this
redistribution of parties bids fair to give
them all they want.
The issue is between expansion or
larger patriotism" to use Lord Rose
berry S phrase. and domesticsm the domes-
ticism and queter Liberalism which Cob
den and Bright preached in their day. The
lines between Lord Rosebery and Sir Will
lam Harcourt on these matters are now ir-
retrevably drawn. The Liberal party can
never again be what it was under Mr..
Gladstone. and no man can foresee the mo-
mentous results upon English policy at
home and over the seas.
The crisis in South Africa, which is fol-
lowing the lines indicated weeks ago in
these dispatches well illustrates this new
partition in British politics. Behind Mr..
Chamberlain in his firm insistence upon
Transvaal reforms stand Lord Rosebery
and Mr.. Rhodes, and opposed to him stand
Sir William Harcourt and Mr. John Nor
ley. OF Lord Rosebery and Mr. Rhodes
the world may yet hear much for the past
Few months have proved to them how
much they have in common, and how DO
tent leadership in British politics theirs
might be when Mr., Rhodes has carried his
South African plans TO a point at which
they may safely be left to subordinates.
The practical business of peace and war
at Pretoria and Capetown dimmed public
interest in the opening of the academic
Peace Conference at The Hague on Thurs
day 4 canvass of English public men
would probably show that not one out of
ten expects more from the conference than,
first, constitution of an International court
of appeal TO which, however, differences
big enough to lead TO war are hardly likely
. TO be referred; second. the extension of
the Geneva convention to naval warfare
and third. the extension of prohibition,
such as already is in force with respect
to explosive bullets, to more horrible
weapons of destruction. OF the elaborate
proposals for international disarmament
even of an international halt to arma-
| ments. with which idea the conference was
. launched. very little is heard now.
a band of Mormons has arrived from
, Salt Lake to begin Latter-Day Gaints'
, crusade in London. A number of Ameri-
; can women are among the propagandists
For the present they intend to confine their
efforts to the poorer quarters of London
where past experience has proved that
/ most converts are to be found. After
ward they will try the agricultural dis
} tricts and finally the West End of Lon
/ don.
, Particulars of the exploring work of Capt
3 II. II. p Deasy in Central Asia have just
4 reached London. Last winter he mapped
5 with much greater accuracy than ever be-
{ fore a great extent of the Yarkand River
S He started from Yarkand in the first day;
of November and returned in February
K having crossed many passes. several o.
r them 1900 feet high. In a single fort
= night he had to cross eleven passes, aver
1 aging l.i70 feet in height. The intervening
= valleys were very deep and narrow, anC
= in many places were choked by dense jun
= gle He determined, astronomically. tn,
= position of thirty three places, and checked
!. the longitudes OF twenty eight other place
I which he had observed in the previous
/. winter.
> The sunday Daily Mall having yield
ed TO the storm against seven-day news
papers. Bishops and ministers are pouring
their congratulations upon Mr.. Harms
worth but the battle will not be won unit
x the Daily Telegraph also ceases its Sun
II day issue. for Mr.. Harmsworth himsel
< admits that if the Telegraph" persists
O. he himself may be forced by the pressur
S. of competition to re-enter the field.