Arizona republican., 1904-03-16
The Defeat of the BaIfour
 Government Yesterday
AN UNEXPECTED EVENT
While It Will not be Immediately Fol- lowed by the Dissolution of Parlia- ment, It Hastens the Downfall of the Government.

London, March 15.-Premier Bal fours government today was defeated in the house of commons by the com hined liberal and nationalist vote. This reverse was due to the prohibition by MT. Windham as chief secretary for Ireland of the teaching of Gaelic in the junior grades of the Irish nation alist schools. MT. Balfour, though de- feated by the majority of all on this question, does not regard the vote as one of q want of confidence. and he will not resign on this account.
 The failure of the government to car ry the house with it cn a question of purely administrative policy in it's | Irish departments is generally admit | ted to have greatly weakened it's all | ready waning prestige with the coun- try. although it is not thought prob able that any immediate development will cnsue. In the house of commons itself, to use the words of a promi- nent member Of the opposition, all the artillery in the government arsen- als would not make them surrender ofice.''
 The Associated Press learns that | Premier Balfour regards it as one of the essential principles of lis party 10 1 hold onto the reins of government for the present al any rate.
 The blow administered today makes the premier's task of holding his party | together doubly difficult, and many supporters of the government frankly said tonight that they favored an ear ly dissolution of parliament rather chan again undergo the humiliation cx- perienced today
 Those terrible Irish" as they are described for the moment by the union ists. are entirely responsible for Bal four's defeat.
 On the question Of Catholic education on Monday night the nationalists had voted with the uEionists, but even while so doing they were planning the downfall of the conservatives. This afternoon the mine so laid-was set off with a success that thrilled the coun- try. The strategy with which the whole coup was planned and the scenes that marked it's continuation recalled the times when Gladstone and ParneIl waged Titanjc struggle in the same arena.
 Within the house of commons itself strange scenes were being enacted
 Profound peace reigned and there was rot sign of the coming parliamentary storm except to the few initiated, who keenly watched the whispered con ference taking place between the Irish whips. John Redmond made com
 plaint about the prohibition of Gaelic in schools, but instead of long speech
 which it would seem he had prepared. judging by the volume of notes in his . hand, the Irish leader said only a few words. MT. Wyndham replied with , equal brevity, and it was evident that
 he was saving himself for a string of
 protests from other Irish members. No one rose to reply to Wyndham. the Irish party for once utilizing silence 7 as it's deadliest weapon.
 Mir Redmond had said there were
 to be no speeches, and though the
 rank and file of the nationaIists did
 not know the reason, not having been
 admitted to the secret plan set on foot the previous evening by their leader and theIr chief whip. they obeyed inn plicity. Discipline triumphcd. and no, : one word came from the Irish in the benches. The liberals, too sat silent though they were ignorant of the pro-
 Jected coup and without reply divi- sion was inevitable. Only then did Mir Wyndham and the government whips
 realize how deliberately they had been outwitted.
 In a. second members who had
 crowded in realized that the govern ment had been beaten. Then arose
 such cheer as Westminster has not
 heard for many day. Irish and liber- , al members clambered upon the benches and yelled themselves hoarse and for nearly five minutes pande-
 monium reigned. Several times Sir Thomas Esmonde tried to read out figures, but his voice was drowned in
 the uproar.
 Mir Ba!four who had been just iu
 time to vote for the government sa! , smiling grimly. Finally there was com parative quiet and Sir Thomas Es- monde read:
 Ayes, Al; noes 1SG.'
 Al this announcement the storm of |: cheering broke out afresh. The gov ) ernment was defeated by eleven votes
 Sir Thomas Esmonde in summing UT the events of one of the most interest ing days in his history said to the As sociated Press
 'Today's division may be taken as
 the Handwriting on the wall. Experi-
 enced parliamentary hands do not ar-
 tach undue importance to it but never
 theless it unmistakably foreshadows ar { approaching dissolution, which to some extent it hastenS
 The pendulum is already swinging towards liberal revival and today's events will accelerate that movement
 With enc or two more adverse divi- slons in the house of commons an ap- peal to the country becomes inevitable
 Of course, there are always accidents in politics, the only thing certain is
 the unforeseen; but unless the returr
 of Joseph Chamberlain after Easter
 brings new vigor and new cohesion t.
 the unionist party their race is wei
 nigh run