New-York tribune., 1899-06-12
RELIGION IN POLITICS.
TUE SOUTHPORT BYELECTI0N - SIR
WILLIAM HARCOURT IN WALES
London, May 81.

,.,sss 20 his Welsh supporters. The first Is
~. more significant event because II is the
..-sest indication that the religious question,
.,cn all party leaders with the single exception
:, ctr William Harcourt are striving 10 keep
,nn and put out Of sight. is ruffiing the face OF
-. waters. The Protestant iss-e was dragged
,~,o this canvass by Lancashire zeaiots. possibly
.,.ir,v but certainly with decisive results
"a curzon's seat has been captured for the
.o,d time since his appointment as Viceroy
,,ra,a. and by double the first majority He
.r,ed Southport at three general elections by
..,,orities ranging from 461 TO 164. Last August
Asiate Sir II. NGylor- -Leyland regained the seat
D, the Liberals with majority of 212 over
,o,s skelmersdale. now Earl of Lathom. Yes
..-asv the Liberals increased their majority to
scq with the largest aggregate vote ever poled
m the division
po,j,,cal neteorology based on the signs OF by
.,ec,,ons is not an exact science There are gen
lily q hundred ways OF interpreting a result
"a nartisars are at liberty either to overload II
,,h significance or to explain il away as a
.,,,se light as air" In this instance there can
:, onlv one reading of the signs Lord Curzon
-, on exceptionally popular candidate and
ould not he beaten when he stood for South
o-, The two candidates who appealed 10 the
s,r,sion Yesterday were evenly matched In per-
,rol influence Sir George Pikington, the Lib
80, wes a Lancashire Alderman who had
,ssn Navor of Southport and had served for a
.,or, time in the Commons. Mr.. C. B. Balfour
he Conservative. while possessing less local
,onu,arity than his rival, was not stranger to
me constituency, since he had been chosen as a
..rdidate before the vacancy occurred and haG
,.ouently addressed political meetings. He
.,.o had the advantage OF close relationship
I~,,io fctF oy,A
strong candidate with a winning personality.
with the Liberal party in Its present state Of
.,rlsss Generalization he seemed destined to
carry the election until the religious question
was raised An Immediate fall of the political
hsro,,neter at once indicated a broad of
disturbance Now that the vote has been polled,
a. ;s evident that the result was not due to the
Liberal candidates superior popularity, but to
the adventurous aid which he received from
Protestant agitators and zealots,
CANDIDATES ANSWER QUESTIONS
Both candidates had been closely questioned
nv the Church Association and the Laymen's
League respecting their attitude toward the
burning question Of clerical lawlessness In the
English Church Sir George Pilkington's replies
were either more adrot or less equivocal than
his rivals for both of these Protestant organi-
passing the defeat OF the Conservative candi-
date The Laymen's League issued q manifesto
declaring that Mr. c. B. Balfour was unsound
and uncertain on the subject Of clerical law
breaking He does not appear TO have held
different view from that which his kinsman Mr.
Arthur Balfour, has eloquently expressed in the
Commons: but religious zeal and resentment
we're aroused and he was the first victim or
ross-voting by the Evangelicals OF Lancashire.
The Bishop of Liverpool, himself Low Church
usate. regarded the attack upon him as un-
Just and made a clumsy and Intellectual at
tempt to parry It. Probably there was cross
roting from each side but with the largely IN
creased Liberal majority in division which
was easily carried by the Conservatives In three
successive general elections 1t is evident that
the religious question turned the scale. Many
Lancashire Unionists have felt so strongly on
the subject Of "Popish practices in the Enghsh
Church that they have deserted their party
and converted this by-electon into politicai
demonstration against the Ritualists and the
R,shons That is the view plainly expressed by
"Tba Standard" and other Conservative jour
mails to-day
Az a sign Of the times the disturbance caused
bv this introduction of the religious question
into a local election is more signincant thah
anything else that has occurred In Engnsh pom
tics for a long time. 1t shows that the peopie
OF Lancashire are more deeply interested III 'his
burning question than in any issue OF current
politics and that they are not Wiling 10 ioi'o"
the advice Of Opportunists IN the commons anu
On the Episcopal bench. How long VIII pohti-
cal leaders and the Bishops be able TO Keep
this question down, when Southport has sounded
significant a warning that something VIII
have TO be done with II? While both parties
have been hesitatng and playing with IT, soine-
how II has got into by-elect1on anu AaS
proved to be decisive issue. Even Sir "liha'ii
Harcourt who spoke the day OF TINS eiecuon
only ventured to devote a single sentence 10 the
religious question II think" he SAID that a'
the present moment the Church of England mas
got quite enough TO do to save itself. and think
also that Wales is more likely 10 disestaphsn
the Romanizing Church in England than the
Ritualists are TO save the Church in Wales from
disestablishment" That sentence. meagre as
II was when read In connection with the polling
In Southport, confirms the conclusion that the
religious question is already IN politics and Is
likely TO remain there and TO be the dominating
is,ue of the next general election
HARCOURTs SPEECH.
Sir William Harcourts speech in Wales has
been awaited with great anxiety by Liberals
who apprehended that he would make furious
onslaught upon Lord Rosebery and thereby |
widen the divisions within a distracted party
and dshearten the rank and file. He astonisheo
ms enemies by an unexpected exhibition oi
msgnanimity and tact. He did not openly at
TACK LORD Rosebery but clevery took up Loru
oaisoury's recent structures upon Liberal pohcy
anu coh'ended that the party which MT 1iao-
e'ohe mad led could not desert his colors ana 20
OacK thrteen years for new basis OF reorgahi-
Eation. In this way he answered Lord Rose
Oerys recent looking backward" speech WIN
out raising a personal issue and without expos