Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-06
ENGLAHDFS TAX CRISIS
Unionists Applaud Chamber
lain; Condemn Balfour.
&c
DIVORCEAND SCANDAL
At
SPICY AND GLARING DETAILS AP-
PEHRTdN PRINT.
Development Of the Walking Craze
Birth of7Heir to Earldom
of Lytton.
Special Correspondence OF The Evening Star.

LONDON, May IS, 1903.
One evening last week Mr.. Chamberlain
sat alone for a long time en- the treasury
bench in the house OF commons. He was
full of thought and deep. thought On the
following evening Mr.. Balfour sat on the
same bench for long time. He was full
of perplexity, and great perplexity. When
ever he is in that condition of mind he
adopts a position assumed by no other
| member of thu house. He bends his head
down almost to his knees and incases his
head in his hands. In fact, he holds his
head in his hands, and he held it for a
long time on that particular evening.
Each gentleman knew what course the
other was going to adopt on Friday-that
the one would set every farmer in the
land against the government, and that the
other would make the momentous an
nouncement that free trade as this coun-
try has known it for many year requires
readjustment.
So far as have seen nearly every union
list paper has condemned the course adopt
ed by Mr. Balfour and applauded that of
Mr.. Chamberlain, yet in some respects there
was a strong similarity between both
spe eches,- for both speakers are in favor
| of readjusting England's free trade system.
l spoke in this sense to unionist member
of parliament, and he agreed with me. He
| said:
That is true; but Mr. Balfour need not,
! however, have begun the new era by TAX
| ing tax which produces e, 500 900 year
| off the backs of the foreigners and placing
! 1t on the backs mainly of unionist electors"
A Bad Beginning.
| ''That is bad beginning" he continued.
/, "but there Is time. to rectify the blunder,
I for blunder it undoubtedly Is. Here is
! splendid chance for preferential duty in
| favor of our colonies. There Is some
chance of the colonies in a short period
producing enormously increased quantities
! of corn.
| I'VE know what Canada is at present
I doing in that direction. and last week there
| were two splendid specimens Of Rhodesian
| wheat exhibited in London. Surprising Mr..
| Balfour were TO keep the duty on United
| States corn and -four and take 1t off Cana
| dian corn and 'houf9 We should get soma
/ part of the f7,5o0lOOO from the Yankees.
who have been taxing English goods-even
potatoes-until theX have got purple in the
| face in their processes Of imposing duty
after duty on English articles. and we
| should give "a splendid inducement to
I Canada and eur, colonies to grow wheat
for us. ~ q
when our exports to the United States
I were equal to our imports from that coun-
| try the English free trader rubbed his
| hands with glee, and told the stupid pro-
tectionst1 thatyWe paid for our imports by
our exports. But now our exports are woe
| fully below our. Imports. How. then, are
| we paying for cur imports? BY adding the
| value of the. fHeightRi to the value of the
| exports says the Eomplacent free trader.
| who does notsseenB to have fixed principle
|, in. his economic nsystem. : When the pro-
/ tectionist nenuOHi Mr.. Piefpent Morgan
and his acquisition of English ships, with.
| of course. ,their earnings, the free trader
says. oh! you must not forget the millions
| Of money we receive from foreign countries
| in dividends -. f.~G s5
l. no 10 al fbaf hos vii oro
| rapidly decreasing. he tells us that we
must not,sforget thatiwe do not pay for
! everything with golden sovereigns. We
have seen that one small tax has relieved
the burden of our taxation by f2J0O. 600
| without adding to the cost Of a single loaf
of bread or a pound Of flour. while 1t has
| given employment in few months to
| thousands of men. Why not try to extract
! $50. 600 from foreigners If we can do so
with benefit to ourselves? Is 1t always to
| be a crime for the English people in trade
| and commerce to consider themselves first
and the foreigners long way after?
! The speeches of Mr.. Chamberlain and Mr..
! Balfour are regarded by conservatives as
! being attuned to the same prOtectionist key.
and 1t Is slowly dawning upon the support
ers of the government that their leaders
| are shaping a policy for them. But
whether 1T will be followed is quite another
matter. and competent critics on the min
| lsterial side are saying that If Mr. Cham
| herlain Is setting out to fight the next cleo
ton on the zollverein issue he will be I'M
dertaking an effort as great as that which
| he himself so largely helped to Illustrate
when Mr.. Gladstone started to educate the
| country to home rule.
Divorce and Scandal.
Readers of English newspapers are aware
of the very great freedom with which di-
vorce and scandal law are reported
in this country. No newspaper in the
| United States would offer to it's readers
such spicy and glaring details as daily ap-
pear in English prints of the most respecta-
| BILE character 1t is the only real sensation
/ they allow themselves. in which nothing is
| left to the Imagination.
Sir Francis Jeune. the head of the di-
vorce court, objects very seriously to this
| kind of reporting and he has just given
| expression to an opinion which has excited
a great deal of comment in legal circles.
| The president of the probate, divorce and
| admiralty division has ruled that every
| judge has the inherent right to hear a
| case 'in camera 1t is true that. under
the ecclesiastical practice, certain kinds of
| matrimonial suits could be so. heard. I'm
| der the matrimonial clauses act 1857, it
| was judicially decided that petitions for
| dissolution of marriage must be heard in
| open court, although i'll more recent cases
under that act the judges have held hest
! tatingly that proceedings In camera are
allowable in certain circumstances.
In view of Sir Francis Jeune'S present at
ttude on the matter. 1t Is interesting to
\ recall a decision which ne gave IN 1877,
when he held that a case before him could
not be heard 1t1n 5tamera." while at the
same time he requested all persons not con-
| cerned In the case to leave the court. In
civil proceedings on the common law side
there was no spreeedent till 1889 for the ex-
clusion of the public from a trial, but there
| in a libel suit Mr. Justice Denman excluded
everybody from hi5 court with the excep-
| ton of the parties and their counsel and
solicitors. Mr. Jdstice Denman's ruling
was keenly criticised. and no point in the
law of Englanfls less settled. The matter
will shortly be brought before the court of
appeals or the house of lords for final set
| Element. - Z
Development Of Walking Craze.
Quite the most amusing development of
the walking craze. which, emanating from
the famous stock exchange walk to Bright
on, is now being taken up by all sorts
of people. was the costermongers great
barrow race" which began yesterday after
noon in the congenial thoroughfare of Hol-
| loway road. It. was typical Cockney
spree. The starting point was public
house. the turning point public house and
the terminus was a public house The pub
| lie house dominated the whole affair. and
1t is perfectly safe to assume that fair