The sun., 1900-06-04
THE WEEK IN ENGLAND
London Papers Discuss the Possibility
Of Salisbury's Retirement.
NOT VERY LIKELY TO HAPPEN
Dissolution of Parliament Will Prob
ably BE Delayed Until Lord Rob-
erts Has Further Cleared the
Situation In South Africa.

London, June 3.-When England is not
talking of peace in South Africa and the
manner of its accomplishment, the topic
Of the day is the dissolution of parlia-
ment and the possible retirement of Lord
Salisbury. Sir Howard Vincent writes
to The Times declaring that the pre-
mier's withdrawal from the field of ac-
tivity would be nothing less than Il ca
lamity for the universe.
The Spectator slrlnises that Lord Sal
iSbury will give up the ministry of for
eign affairs, contenting himself with be
ing premier only and suggests that MIR.
4. j. Balfour, the government leader in
the house of commons and first lord of
the treasury. should hr given his uncle's
portfolio and he maCic a peer, while Mr..
Joseph Chamberlain, the secretary Of
state for the colonies. should succeed the
Marquis of Lansdowne as secretary Of
state for war and become government
leader in the house of commons, these
Hypothetical changes TO come after the
dissolution, which The Spectator rec
ommends should occur this year and in
sists must be followed by a thorough re-
construction of the cabinet. Other week
lies and dailies also refer to the possi-
bility of Lord Salisbury's retirement.
Will Probably Not Retire.
| Inquiries reveal the fact that there is
| not the slightest ground for believing
| Lord Salisbury contemplateS retiring eli
| ther from the ministry of foreign affairs
or the leadership of the party. He has
never mentioned such a contingency, and
his spirits are equally good, even to the
point of what for him is unusual jocular-
| ity, while his interest in home and for
eign affairs is keener than ever. So 1t
| is safe to say that if the Conservatives
| are successful at the forthcoming gem
eral election Lord Salisbury will once
more pilot the fortunes of the country
and party. The Outlook keenly diagnos-
ed the premier's recent remarkable
speeches, whereby he has gained the rep
utation of thinking aloud. when it de
scribes him as "looking with a half anus
ed. half pitiful gaze on the hurlyburly.'
| His utterances last week were saveC
from being mere collection of platitudeS
by the frank declaration that mot {
shred of independence" could be left Il
the Boer republics. This was intended
to be taken as an answer to any peace
seeking messages that President Kruger
might he contemplating
A decision anent the date of dissoill
tion is still in the air Mr.. Chamberlain
favors an early appeal to the country
but Lord Salisbury will not formally dis
cuSs the matter until Lord Roberts s.
shapes the military aspect Of South Afrl
ca that there cannot he shadow Q
doubt ms to the completeness Of the Brit
ish victory In the meanwhile the RAM
| and file of the tInionists are clamorlni
for an early appeal to the electors, whii
the Liberals wrathfully dispute tn
morality of an attempt to sweep tn
country on "khaki platform" or, IN 9th
er words. of making political capital on
of military success. As the government
was severely attacked over its lnltia
q military failure the logic of the Liberia
e protest is not quite apparent.
e Rosebery Keeping Dark.
d Lord Rosebery's latest utterance cor
/ tained in his message of congratuatio
n to the Plymouth Mercury on the occa
9 sion of its fortieth anniversary come
n rather as disappointment, as it ma
: been heralded ms being manifesto Q
his views and plans, instead of which h
merely repeated the generalisms contain
q ed in his recent public speeches, Thes
+. might either indicate a desire to assls
+ the cause of imperialism in the role of
! private individual or achieve the sam
= end by the active leadership of politics
f faction. While the letter to The Me
! curry in no way exposes his hand or pr
, J vents him from consistently ad0Dtin