The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-03-14


 Wrong-Rosebury a Very Popular Han-The King and He age Chums- King Edwards Visit to Brewery Prince Henry's Visit to the Unitod
 States.
 London, March ,.
 To the Editor of the Journal and Courier:
 At the time this is written popular
 interest is engrossed with four subjects,
 viz, Prince Henry's visit to the United
 States, King Edwards visit to the
 great brewing center of Burton-on-
 Trent the army scandals arising out of
 the South African war and the split in
 the party of Gladstone caused by the recent secession of Lord Rosebery. To
 link together the names of Gladstone
 and Rosebery is a striking reminder of
 how, in these days, the action of the
 latter contravenes the policy Of the
 great chieftain who first brought Rose
 bery into prominence and whose dotins
 regard made that brilliant pet of socie-
 ty the prime minister of Great Britain.
 If Lord Rosebery is right in insisting
 upon a "clean slate for the liberal
 party, in his renuneiation of home rule
 for Ireland and in his support of the
 war measures of the present govern
 ment, then, unquestionably, Gladstone
 was radically wrong in all the measures to which, for a score of years before his
 death, the energies of his mighty soul
 were given, and popular opinion votes
 that Rosebery is right,
 So great is the change since Glad
 stone's time, and so very much out of
 harmony with the preponderating pub
 lie sentiment Is the party which he led to so many triumphs at the polls, that
 really his career as one looks back
 upon it in the light of current events, seems little more than a dream. So dead to-day is the cause of home rule that the idea of a great statesman stalking his life and the life of his party upon it scarcely more than decade ago. seems incredible Gladstone, af ter Maiuba, bent the knee to the Boers; England to-day is slowly annihilating them. Gladstone's slate was never clean. It always had written upon it the promise of great domestic reforms. Yet only few years after Gladstone's demise it is the emphatic conviction of his political eXecutor that nothing but a clean slate will give Gladstones par ty the chance of ever again getting into power.
 Lord Rosebery's popularity is one of the present day marvels. The only thing that equals it as a public specta- cle is the astounding dsrepute which has overtaken the party of Lord Rose berys old-time cheftain. But both these phenomenons can be accounted for if a little common sense be used. As to the party, it has long been hand icapped by the suspicion that if 1t could it would give a separate parliament to a proposal which the great ma jority of Englishmen look upon with abhorrenee. It has had, too, certain in ternai elements of weakness. Liberal ism has been a name that covered eve- rything standing for change, from the progressive to the ram oantly radical, and these extremes nave not always tended to harmony. | Tn fact they have necessarily led often to confusion and disintegratipn. These, l however, are defects and difficulties which the liberal party might well have lutlived. What has really given it it's 1eath-blow has been the war. Rightly | lr wrongly Britain's flag has been up- 'aised against the Boers, and the libe- 'als, being out of power have had the i task of critlcisng the gov while the flag was being fired | ipon This has made the party seem 1npatriotic. It has tainted it just lit le with treason and in doing this has | damned it in popular es- | eem for many years to come.
 To point out the chief cause of the | iberal party's ruin is to clearly indi- ate one of the causes of Lord Rose ,ery's popularity. Like few others in | hat party, this astute nobleman dis erned the signs of the times. He saw low dangerous it would be to merely | riticise while war to the knife was go- ling on so he went in for the flag. Ie did not concede that the war was necessity. He held indeed that wiser nd kindlier diplomacy might have pre- 'ented 1t. But war 1t was-his own war--and he very early inti mated that in carrying on this war his ountry would have his support. The leavage thus begun between Lord 2osebery and his party progressed teadily until his party, to use com non phrase, became too hot for him. But while he was falling in the esteem f the liberals, he was rising in the es- imation of the great mass of his coun- rymen, and he is to-day, for one req on or another the most talked of man n England, second only in popularity
 should say at a rough guess-to his Iajesty King Edward.
 This reminds me that the king and .ord Rosebery are chums and that, if umor isn't an eggregious liar, there is kely, after a time, to be a still closer ond between them. The only trouble that Dame Rumor doesn't always tell he same story. Now it is King Ed ards brother-in- that Lord Rose cry is to become, and anon we arc told hat the contemplated union will bring i'm into the nearer relation of a son l-laW. There is a chance, of course, 'hile confusion of this kind obtains, rat RoseberY may escape the royal matrimonial moose altos ca.tcr and tie i'nself up to Jone daughter O. "a hun. red earls" or even to tre daughter of l )me American nnl millionaire But Il tue same he is charming personal 1 " and has boar1 ef T n q of .