Evening star., 1901-05-04
New British Budget the Object Of
Their Animosity.
IT SEEMS TO PLEASE NOBODY
New Instances Of Privileges Ex-
tended to Foreign Ministers.
LONDON NEWS AND GOSSIP


| special correspondence of The Evening Star
LONDON, April "a, 1901.
The whole country is up in arms over the
new budget taxes. Everybody is hit in a
greater or less degree by the increased in
come tax, which bears hardest on the man
of moderate income; the sugar dealers and
the trades that use sugar are clamorous
against the new duty, while the coal kings
are simply frothing at the mouth and de-
| nCuncing the government in the widest
terms for imposing an export duty of a
/ shilling a ton on coal.
Every one has his pet grievance but
most consumers look with complacence OF
| the coal duty as stroke of poetic JUS
| tice on the dealers who have, for no legiti
| mate reason, kept the price of coal up ant
| have been fattening off the public all win
| ter.
l do not think that anyone need be
| alarmed by the threats of colliery owners
to take the drastic method of stopping the
| trade. This would have too great a reac-
| tion on themselves, and | do not think
they could boycott a government success
| fully.
Regarded as whole, however. the bud
set is not unlikely to prove disastrous for
the government. Not a solitary part of it
meets with general approval. 1t is sig
nliicant that the first note of objection was
sounded by the Standard, a tory organ
and that it's columns being filled
with protests against further attempts to
| impoverish the middle class. These COM
munlcationS are not infrequenty couched
in furious language. They accuse the gov
ernment of willfully deluding the people
about the war, of securing a return to
power on false pretenses and abound with
undiSguiShed threats of coming vengeance
at the polls. When indictments of this
gravity are given full publicity by q usu-
ally stanch support Of unionism, it must
be tolerably evident that an alarming reac-
tiCn of popular feeling is dreaded The
fact is that the loan, which experience
shows can be easily raised, might just as
well have been increased by the few mil
lions that the new taxes are expected to
produce and all trouble avoided by the
ministry.
If the liberal party was composed of ra-
tional men we might witness a speedy
transformation in the character of party
business. What with the war and the
budget. the muddles abroad and the ex-
travagances at home, they have been pre-
Sented with an almost endless range of
subjects to attack, and. with a properly
supported leader, ought to have eXpe-
rienced no difficulty in utilizing these op-
Dortunities TO their own advantage. Thou
sands OF people are anxious to bring ii
about Yet, instead of augmented har
mony, there appears to be increasing dis
cord. Rival chiefs still at variance in
the house of commons, their Legislative
champions are at daggers drawn, and the
compared to rival teams of tug of war.
Whenever one provincial association re-
pudiates Sir III. Campbell Bannerman an
other is ready to denounce the act as ''un-
wise and ungracious." SO it is with the
Roseberyites. No sooner do the men of
one section praise him than hosts of an
tagonists are just as ready to blame Under
these circumstances it is feared that the
ensuing meeting of the National Liberal
Federation may be more than usually con-
spicuous for heated controversy, because
there are two views about the leadership
that seem wide as the poles asunder, and
TWO sets of men who are determined to
PROFOUND them. So. for want of organiza-
ton, the liberals miss their chance.
Privileges of Foreign Ministers.
The suicide of one of the female attend
ants at the Chinese embassy has served to
call attention to the rule of international
| law which recognizes an ambassadors resi-
dence as being outside the jurisdiction of
the country to whose court he is the ac-
! credited representative This is one of the
great privileges and immunities which at
tach to ambassadors. On this account it
| has been decided that no inquest will be
/ held by the English authorities on the
/ body of the deceased servant. The immu-
/ mites which an ambassador is privileged 10
/ enjoy grow out of the consideration that
/ ne cannot do the business intrusted to him
well unless his person be safe and he be
! independent of the control of the foreign
government. 1t has occasionally appeared
! to the London and West End tradeSmau a
! great hardship that he is unable to sue a
| foreign ambassador in the English courts
/ and thereby compel payment of debt due
/ In practice a tradesman loses very little
| Tor IN the event OF an ambassador owing
| money there is always the remedy of ap-
! pealing to his sovereign for justice. An
/ ambassadors secretaries and the whole OF
his family and servants are exempted from
! local jurisdiction, and the ambassador has
| an almost absolute control over the whole
| of them. 1t is rare that this great power
is carried to extreme lengths. When Sully,
| at that time Marquis of Rosny, was in
| London in 1903 one Of his people killed an
| Englishman in a quarrel. Sully called to-
gether a jury Of Frenchmen, and after
! hearing the charge condemned the man to
| death, and delivered him up to the English
| authorities for execution. He was, how
| ever, afterWard pardOned by King James l.
| James Russell Lowell when lIe was Unit
| ed States minister in London, twice made
| the acquaintance of this ambassadorial i'm
| munity. On one occasion his wife request
| ed Bond street furrier to give her tho
| option on a set of furs for three days. Al
| the end of that time Mrs. Lowell decided
| not to purchase the goods, but the furriel
| brought suit against her alleging that She
| had ordered the furs delivered to her resi-
| dence c. O. D., and that by her refusal tC
| take them he had missed the chance OF
| making the sale to another customer. Mr.
| I.OWell'S secretary appeared in court. point
| ed out to the judge the act of immunity
which, by the way, was passed in the
| reign of Queen Anne, and proceedings were
| at once dropped Another time Mr. Low
| ell was driving along Victoria street wher
his carriage colided with a cab and smash.
ed it to pieces. Mr.. Lowell offered to pay
the cabman adequate sum. but the lat
| ter demanded twice much. The case
| was brought to court, but the ambassador.
| ial privilege caused its dismissal and the
| cabman, grumbling, was obliged to take
| what Mr. Lowell had first offered.
| 4 Surprise to Society.
| Society is somewhat surprised at the an.
| nouncement that the king has granted the
| use for life of White Lodge to Mrs
| Hartman who though an old lady, is one
| of the kings friends. White Lodge" is ir
| Richmond Park, in beautiful location, anc
| was the residence of the Duke and Duchess
| of Teck for many years. 1t has always
| been reserved for the use of royalty, ant
| it was believed that the Duke and Duchess
| OF York would have it. But as l intimateG
some time ago King Edward is breaking
| from all nrecp1pntS and faShjopip,