Evening star., 1900-09-29
KRUGER rs A WHITE ELEPHANT
English Ship Owners Jealous Of
the Speed Of the German Boats.
AFTER WAR COME INQUIRIES
Special Correspondence of The Evening star

est interest and the topic the most absorb
ing that has been brought forward In re-
cent times. But 1t is largely newspaper
excitement.
/ have witnessed the announcement In
London at several periods of the date of an
intended dissolution. but l have not yet
seen one which aroused so faint a flicker
of public interest as that of today. The
man in the street" when told that parlia-
ment would be dissolved tomorrow week
seemed rather less concerned than when
given some information as to the recur-
renee of the heat wave; and even at those
political clubs which are accustomed to
seethe with excitement upon such occa-
sions scarcely a pulse beat the faster. rms
extremity of apathy may be construed IN
various fashions, partly perhaps because
the announcement has been discounted by
its frequency and partly because the con-
servatives have doubtless safe victory
before them, but its existence In every
quarter is not denied. 1t is difficult, there
fore to believe that within few days the
fourteenth parliament of Queen victoria
and the twenty-sixth of the united king
dom will be more, and that another Will
reign in it's stead.
A general election in this country Is con-
Quoted on somewhat different lines than in
the United States, the chief point at Vari-
ance being the celerity with wnlcn our
settle down to normal life with new par
Lament.
For a presidential election in the United
States we nominate candidates In June or
July and the election takes place In No
vember a four months process. Here
four weeks time settles the whole analr'
while many unopposed seats manage II 1ar
quicker.
IF the proclamation of dissolution be is
sued in the London Gazette even as lately
as tomorrow week, which is the dissolution
date as fixed at the privy council To-Day,
the writs could be dispatched from the
crown office the same night. the first bor-
ough nominations and unopposed returns
could be taken on Friday week anu the
earliest town polls be held on the Saturday
The electoral period, therefore, will be snort
and sharp, for before the close of another
week something like a hundred members
Of the new parliament may be elected IL
may, therefore, be expected that the new
parliament will have been completely eject
ed early in the week which commences on
the 14th of October. In borough constitu-
encies ten days from the date of the re-
ceipt Of the writ, including one Sunday. are
by law allowed to complete contested eiec-
tiJns and in the counties the utmost limit
allowed is nineteen days, including two
Sundays.
In the case of boroughs where the writs
are received on Wednesday. the 26th in
slant, two clear days must elapse before
the nomination of candidates, 80 that the
first nominations and unopposed returns for
bOrOuRhS
Goth instant The first possible day for
polling in the boroughs will be Monday,
October l, but it Is usual in many cases to
allow longer interval, and any day up 10
Friday, October g. may be fixed for polling
in the boroughs. In a county constituency
where the writ is received on Wednesday,
the 26th, three clear days must elapse be-
fore the nomination, and at least two clear
DAYS thereafter exclusive of Sunday be-
fore the earliest county polling can take
place.
The interval which elapses between the
dissolution and the assembling of the new
parliament varies in length according to
political consideration debating the appeal
to the constituencies. In the present case
it is believed in well-informed circles that
the situation in the far east will be suf-
ficient to necessitate the summoning of
parliament this year for purposes other
than the swearing in Of new members, and
November 1 is the date assumed as the one
on which the new parliament will be sum
moned
The principal interest in the election lies
in the possible reconstruction of the cab
met which may follow, supposing that the
present government are again returned to
office. AS regards Lord Salisbury's inten-
tions nothing is at present known, but
there have been rumors for some time past
that possibly Lord Cadogan and Lord
James of Hereford would not again hold
Office, the last named being freely men
toned in connection with the vacant office
Of lord chief justice.
Expert politicians on both sides are al
| ready forecasting the result Of the general
election.
The unionsts are confident that they will
come back with an increased majority, and
that they will win a. least ten seats, count
ing twenty on division. This would mean
that the government would possess the
same strength after the general election
In July, 1895, when the unionists returned
with majority of 152.
On the other hand, the liberals anticipate
reduce ministerial m a
jority to below 100, and some are sangune
that 1t will not be more than eighty; in
which case they argue that this would be
q moral defeat of the South African pol
Icy of the government.
A feature of the present election will be
the large number of seats which will be
uncontested. Most of these are in posses
sion of the unionsts. We may expect to
see some new faces In the new house. in
Guiding men who have made names for
themselves in the present war, like Capt
Lambton of the cruiser Powerful and Win
ston Churchill. Capt. Lambton, who is a
liberal, was at the head of the naval bri-
gade that rendered such valiant service at
Ladysmith.
peer from the ranks Of the conservatives
This is the Earl of Sandwich.
The earl Is one of the most potent in
fuences in Huntingdonshire and certainly
had more to do in the past with the re-
turn of the tory candidates at the last
| election than any other man. He will,
however. take the chalr at meeting of the
| local liberals Wednesday. He is the
| descendant of that Admiral Montagu who
was the patron Of old Samuel Pepys, and
| who gave him cottage to occupy on the
| outskirts of his estate; and he is, Of course,
| the owner of the mansion in which, ac-
| cording to tradition, Oliver Cromwell then
| youth, met Charles the First on the
| way, with his father, from Hinchinbrooke
| to London. Some idea Of the chief planks
| on which Lord Salisbury will ask for the
| confidence Of the country may be derived
from Watching closely the journals which
are notoriously in his confidence This
| does not mean that the premier holds per-
| sonal interviews with the editor or that he
communicates his political secrets to them
/ by letter. The last time a statesman COM
! mitted blunder of that sort was the
occasion on which Lord Randolph Churchill,
| after the famous cabinet meeting where
| he threatened to resign and then found
| himself to his surprise taken at his word,
/ drove to Printing House Square, and told
/ the news to his old college friend, Mr..
Buckle, the editor of the Times. But the
| plan usually followed is for one of the pri-
vate secretaries, who is probably acqualnt-
ed with the editor with his assistant,
personally to call upon him and impart the
/ hint in an indirect method. The Times and
| the Spectator are known to possess rela-
tions of this kind with hte prime minister 8
| circle of intimate friends.
/ we he fxun inttr lie foEn Yt,a ole