The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-14
ON PRIMROSE DAY.
The ParnelI Biography
Shining Light is Cast Upon
a Great Character.


ers in England, as if the event Of his
passing took place but year ago His
--latest anniversary occurred but week
or ten days since, and the same large
demonstrations were held in honor OF
his memory as have marked the day
every year since Dizzy" went over to
the great majority. The reason fol
this is hard to find in the minds Of
many who are mere students at dis
tance of contemporary history, but it
is easy of comprehension to all who
have any knowledge even though very
slight, of English political life. and of
the numerous, almost uncountable,
lights and shades of. English political
/ ways and sentiment.
The real fact is, Disraelis death ami
versary has been turned into politi-
cal holiday 1t is called Primrose day,
but by whom or for what particular
reason. nobody authorized to speak has
ever yet satisfactorily explained. Some
body started the notion abroad at the
time of his death. that Disraeh during
| life was very fond of primrOses, and
the idea of Primrose day took root and
fructified as rapidly as the beautiful
| little flower itself gathers and grows
! along the banks of the meadow streams
in the glorious days of spring, And
with Primrose day came the Primrose
! league, conceived in the brilliant brain
/ of that talented product of the isle of
! Manhattan. Lady Randolph Churchill,
whose meteoric young husband had just
/ then begun to dazzle the political firm
ament of Westminster and to dazzle
| himself with the delusion that Disrae-
| lis mantle had dropped upon his SHOULD
ders. Year after year, ever since the
| Primrose league and the Primrose
DANES (for to be in society every smart
woman tory must be Primrose dance
gather in the great centres of popula-
ton while incense is generously burned
at every Disraehs monument, and the
memory of the undoubtedly able Anglo
| Jewish tory leader has full oratorical
| Justice done to it; the occasion is also
awaited of as a rallying day for the
! leaders and masses of the tory, or con-
sentative, party.
1t was at one of these Primrose meet
ings that Arthur Balfour spoke the
other day, and his speech aroused the
greatest enthusiasm and patriotic feeling
| among his followers throughout Great
| Britain Balfour is without question
the leader of the hour in English poll
| tics. and when he speaks, his words
are as attentively followed by the dip
lomats of Europe as if they were ut
tered by his uncle, Lord Salisbury,
whose political mouthpiece he is gener-
ally supposed to be.
He found the keynote of his speech,
on the occasion referred to, in a ia
nous correspondence which took place
! in 1916 between the Duke of Wellington,
| Lord Palmerston and Sir Robert Peel
regarding the defenseless condition of
Great Britain. while the danger was be-
| fore their eyes of possible invasion
! by an army from France All three
admitted that England was not pre-
pared to resist such an invasion, that
she could not defend her own shores
| from even a small body of attacking
! troops and the protection of the colo
/ MES by, the mother country was entire
| ly beyond her power. Then Mr.. Bal
four passed from this gloomy CORE
! spondenee, arousing the national pride
and enthusiasm of his hearers as he
! proceeded:
Contrast 1916 with 1899 Today our
| shores are above menace from any hos
| tile power and our capacity to defend
| our colonies is equal to our will
| tcheers). We have paid off all TIE finan-
cial obligations thrown upon us by the
! Crimean war and we have in addition
paid off e200,O0O,OOO of debt, a legacy
, from generations now long gone by
!
in the community, and not least of the
working class, indeed most of the work.
| ing class has improved by every test
which it is possible to apply (cheefs).
! 1t is proved by the rate of wages. 1t
| is proved by the consumption per head
! of luXuries and necessaries, it Is
! proved by all the statistics which we
can acquire with regard 20 the housing
of the working classes (cheers). There
| I 10 for 40 "A {
| as is the expenditure we are asked to
! bear to maintain the load of empire,
! that expenditure is well within our re-
| sources and in moments of stress and
strain could without difficulty be aug
mented sufficiently to meet any con
| ceivable emergency (cheers). say this,
! heaven knows, in no spirit of bOastful-
/ ness. My confidence in the future is
| based upon consideration of our past
( it is based upon a view Of the steady
! progress in wealth, in education, in
population which has gone on from
year to year. 1t is based upon me dim
| mutton of our public charges. uDOn The
| diminution of the burden of indirect
/ taxation imposed upon the great masses
/ of the community (cheers). I know no
reason why these happy symptoms
| should change, why this serene sky
should in future be overcast; but if evil
times are to come / am certain that
/ we may look forward to the public
| spirit of the country rising to Meee
each danger as it comes upon US
| (cheers). Let us. then not undeIrate
| the burden of empire. Ou- expenditure
l is indeed enOrmous-such as Our fathers
never dreamed of-but while ne make
this admission let us lock forward or
| the whole with confidence and courage
/ to the ability of this country, morally
and financially, to bear any load Of re-
sponsibility which the future may have
in store" Cloud cheers).
This speech is more boastful in its
! tone than any English minister ma,
seen fit or necessary to utter FOR some
time.
| Least of all is il such as one would
look for from Mr. Balfour. VINO is the
very acme of coldness and solid dclib-
Grafton in his public addresses. 1t Is a
reminder of the days when Jingolsm
saw its birth. towards the close of Dis
raelis' last term as premier wnen- .he
crowds in the music halls and theatres
used to cheer themselves hoarse at the
nightly refrain with which the singers
caught the popular ear:
I'VE don't want to fight
But by lingo. if we do
We've got the men.
We've got the ships
We've got the morey, too
Perhaps Mr.. Balfour was thinking. as
he spoke of that saucy young man at
Berlin, who takes such delight in doing