The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-03-11
What Others Say.

| For some reason Great britain
| takes much keener interest In
| the doings of her Parliament than
we do in those of Congress. Partly
because she is smaller country,
and partly because she has not the
local Legislatures we have to dis
tract and divide the attention of
the people While our papers give
brief space to debates, even the
most important, the English papers
reproduce them almost in full, and
they are generally read.
What especially rivets attention
on Parliament this year Is that 1t
has an unusual number of questions
OF far-reaching consequence before
It. Both parties as when the leader
ship alternated for so long between
| Gladstone and Disraeli, seem to be
biddirly for popular support by go
ing all lengths in conceding every
thing for which there Is any popu-
lar clamor. in Difference 20 a grow
| ing temperance sentiment the Lib
erals have introduced a licensing
bill, which will reduce the number
OF saloons in the country from
100000 to about 10000. This will
lantagonize two classes of voters, the
owners and lessees of saloons and
! their friends and the large number
of steady drinkers who are averse
to having their facilities curtailed.
In England a license once GRANTED
In hn
of vested right that It is proposed
20 increase the tax on those who
retain them sufficiently to in some
measure compensate those who are
deprived. This is n Libel measure
and is regarded by the Conservatives
who have always controlled the
liquor interests rs confiscatory.
Another measure which cleaves
British society into two nearly equal
parts. and which has produced end
less rancor and bitterness is the
education bill, which is in the direc-
ton of taking public education en-
tirely out OF deuominational hands
and influence and making it at least
in the earlier grades, purely secular
The nonconformists, who are taxed
for the support "of the Church of
England schools, insist on this. A
, similar bill passed the Commons at
the last SITTING and was thrown out
by the Lords, and it is anticipated
that the same thing will happen
again with an increased tendency
to brinl5 TO a crisis the old dispute
between the two bodies and the
question whether the Lords must
not be abolished or wholly reor-
ganized.
Female suffrage, which has also
been cause of great agitation and
disturbance, has been indefinitely
shelved by complimentary vote
in its favor, referring it to the
Committee of the Whole, which,
as it is private and not o Gov
ernment measure, consigns it to a
long sleep. While it is possible that
on test vote It would pass the
Commons, a canvass OF representa-
tive localities shows a majority of
the women sb9l against it, possibly
because of, rather than in spite of,
the violent and unseemly tactics the
suifragettes have adopted. Parlia-
meht also has disturbing conditions
IN India to deal with, and the
chronic Irish trouble grows more
acute The state OF Ireland I'm some
sections, If at all as reported is
even worse than that of Kentucky
where The night riders are doml-
nant.
The Liberals for the time beinp
nave the labor vote with them.
but the Conservatives expect by the
old-age retirement bill they have
committed themselves to be able IN
capture ii. This is most rad cal
ana decidedly sooialistic measure.
Taking it altogether, despite it's
monarchical and aristocratic feat
ures, the drift of government in
Great Britain seems to be far more
rapid in the direction of radlcallsm
and the enactment OF poDular
measures on demand than Is the
case with u.s. Furthermore having
no constitution, no Supreme Court
with power to interpret IT, no veto
and consequently no check on Par
lament, Great Britain is in much
greater danger of legislation inter
ierlng With contract and property
rights than we are. Enquirer.
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