The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-03-01
LORD RosEBERY,s POSITION.

The British Liberal UniOniStS have re-
pudiated Lord Rosebery. So, too, have
his former political associates, the Lib
erals. The party of the earl may be
said to consist of himself as at once the
leader and his following.
Rosebery will always be- an interesting
figure, as long as he chooses to remain
in political life. He has not the force
necessary to great achievements in pub
lie affairs. That he has made plain so
often that it is rather strange that the
English people take him seriously for any
length of time.
To all who are interested in current
affairs it Will be a matter of more or
less concern what the political effect
Of Lord Rosebery's secession from the
Liberal ranks will be. He was a British
Liberal premier for a time. He was
also for time looked forward to as the
most radical among titled politicians. 1t
is not long to look back to, the period
when the British people were looking
10 Rosebery as the man who would lead
the movement against the house of lords
All that sort of thing is past, and Lord
Rosebery now stands, if ever British
politician stood, on his own merits, to
rise to great heights or disappear forever
in the swollen waters of British imperial
politics.
What IS Rosebery's political position,
stated plainly? It is well expressed in
the term liberal imperialism. 1t may
be said that there can be no liberal i'm
periaHsm, bearing in mind Gladstonian
liberalism. But there is Many Liberals
believe in the extension of the power and
prestige of the British empire in every
known way. Whether that imperialism
in its ultimate form will embody Joseph
Chamberlain's conception of the different
sections Of the empire represented in an
imperial parliament at Westminster, each
controlling its own domestic concerns
through a native parliament, or whether
it will continue to develop along it's present
lines, of separate colonies having all the
rights of self-governing countries but
Invested of national sovereignty, Eng
lishmen, Liberal Conservative, and
Uniorist alike, win ever look forward
to the growth of the empire as a world
power, and will not consent to entertain
the thought of separation of any of the
several parts from the united whole.
1t is at this point that, Chamberlain
and Rosebery both find their Justification
in politics while calling themselves Lib
erals Chamberlain would suppress the
Beers even by humiliation, if in no other
way it might be accomplished. So would
Rosebery. Chamberlain would keep Ire
land in subsection, always, if necessary.
by armed force. So would Rosebery.
The liberalism of Gladstone, if we do
not wholly misunderstood it, might en-
brace the doctrine of Horace Greeley
toward the Southern states, expressed in
the words that the erring sisters might
go in peace.
if Rosebery is not content to go in
with the Tories as Chamberlain did be-
fore him, he probably Will never cut
much figure in English politics. He win
not win over Liberals. British lingo
ism may tolerate him; it will never adopt
him, as it has adopted Chamberlain
He is between the devil and the deep
II
determine whether he is to save himself
from both, or to which he will succumb.
1t IS reported Lat Prince Henry ex-
pressed keen regret that he would not
have the pleasure of meeting Senator
Tillman while in this country. The
prince rather likes a scrappy man.