New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-12-04

.,,-aI municipal or local authoritiesl Direct
--snts from the treasury cannot be authorized
s..ho,,t the consent Of Parliament, and what
-,snect can there be OF relief from that quarter,
rhsn the last session was mainly devoted to a
.,s,ston act which might enable Poor Guard
-. and other local boards 10 make OF
,.-,.ahle aid in finding work for the unem-
,-.57 Or what dependence be placed In
nc fresh emergency upon the ordinary admin
,-,.stsor Of the Poor Laws, when there is gen.
Ii agreement among investigators that the
e,,...u, has degraded the masses and been so
-..tefuIIy managed that the average cost Of a
-,r,er hiss been doubled in thirty years? The
s,.,nev Borough Council is substituting hand
.o,rns for horse brooms in cleaning streets;
..bar metropolitan boroughs are ordering street
osdng and other improvements unusual
,csie. and there are many ineffective consulta-
,,ons between Poor Guardians and borough COM
,1.,tse: but these half measures will only in
crssss the burdens of taxpayers and create as
-ouoh poverty as they will relieve. A most gen.
,-,u, response has been made to the Queens
call for general relief fund. but even those
Who are contributing to it suspect that it will be
.ns 1rst of long series of charity appeals made
s,asr after year for the benefit of the voorhees,.
An overworked Prime Minister meditating res
,g,ation IN hard times like these is to be con-
rratuIated upon the prospect Of release from a
,bsnkIess post Of responsibility Mr. Balfour
os reproached for lack of sympathy when the
a-st PROCESSION Of working women lined up In
whitehall and he was denounced by dema-
soeues when the second march Of the unem-
nioyed ended in Hyde Park; yet neither he nor
hs colleagues could justly be blamed for neg
isctug to do something which is clearly impos-
s,hls They cannot multiply employments and
,crAsts q greater demand for labor under exist
,nr economic conditions; and. since they are
rIssged to postpone tariff dicussions until
General election has been held, it is plain that
thew must fall back upon public charity on
an unexampled scale relief measure. There
,s no other resource. From this point of view
g. not unlikely that the greatest service which
The Prime Minister can render to the working
classes is the dissolution Of Parliament at the
earliest possible date In that way the transition
nsrIod, during which the tariff question is
thrust aside until 8 more convenient season. viii
be brought TO an end. With Mr.. Balfour and
afr Chamberlain In opposition, with compact
hody Of tariff reforners around them, it may
be possible 70 raise the question whether, when
there are so many thousands Of workmen unen-
uloyed tt is not expedent to readjust the tariff
.rsten SO as to supply them with more work at
heue AS matters stand under Free Trade,
q large section of the population is systemad-
csIy pauperized at high cost TO the taxpayers
snd another enormous contingent IS thrown out
If employment and is on the verge of starva-
tim when the Cobdenites profess to be con-
WINGED that British trade was never more pros
nervous; and charity on a princely scale is the
only resource for the voorhees,. 1 y. F.