The Irish standard., 1911-06-10

OLlS, MlNN., SAl OhUAY JUNE
the liberals, who have seen the tory
candidates acquitted of even the gross
est and plainest charges of electoral
corruption and the heavy mulcting of
the liberal politicians and the liberal
journals of gigantic costs and. finally
the overthrow of trade unions by judi
cial decisions.
Churchills declarat tions elected
tempest of frantic cheers from the lib
erals and frantic reprebation from the
tories. This is one of the many little
signs that volcano ,underlies the ap-
parent tranquility of the hour, but
any visitor to London will see only
sunny streets, eager and joyous crowds,
festive dinners and gigantic and uni
versal scaffolding to supply seats for
the coronation.
Before long there will be a great
revolution which will lil,crate England
from centuries of arstocratic control
and place the power in the hands of
the masses.
Rosebery Sits as Neutral.
Lord Rosebery's incursons into real
political strife in England become every
day more titful and less effective. That
curious feminine capriciousness Of
temper and temperament which ac.
counts for the strange vicissitudes of
his career, was we'll hit off the other
night in the house OF lords by Lord
Newton, another peer of bright and
irrevercnt wit, who compared Lord
ROSebery to Il prima donna, who re-
quired Il good deal OF coaXing. 1t is
rather as prima donna star performer
than as Il serious politician that Lord
Rosebery is now regarded, even among
his fellow peers. For days, sometimes
for weeks, he sits in his place OIL the
cross bepches in the house of lords
without opening his lips or relaxing the
selection of his seat has its signifi-
cance. The house of lords, unlike the
house of commons, has cross benches
on, which men sit who desire to pro-
claim thereby that they are independ-
ent Of al party ties se4 he the house Is. OF
commons you can sit on benches that
proclaim you a moderate liberal. or a
radical, or a laboritc, a high tory or an
Irish nationalist but you can find no
the house of lords things have to be
differently arranged.
The reason is simple. Among the
peers are members Of the royal family
great generals or admirals, great judges
| and all these classes arc supposed to
have no party political opinions. The
result is that between the two great
rows of seats which are occupied by
members of the two great parties, there
| intervene four or five benches right in
| the middle of the chamber, and these
are the cross benches. 1t is on one of
these benches that Lord Rosebery al
ways sits. This means that while he
has separated himself from his old
| friends and colleagues in the liberal
party, he has not yet Joined the tories
at least not openly. For the moment
! do not see any probability of his com
| ing out as straight tory; he is, or al
least he was. up to d short time ago
! a pronounced free trader and the tories
still are, for the most part, protection
lists. .... ....
Nor indeed do party ties of any kinC
recommend themselves to Lord Rose
berry in his present mood. 1t is much
more agreeable to him to play the par
of the detached citizen who is able tc
lash alternately both parties and to be
the eloquent voice Of one crying in The
wilderness. 1t is really the only par
which nature ever intended him to play
1t is the part which is imposed on hin
at once by his gifts and by his defects
His defects are fatal to a man who de.
sires to be man Of action. He i:
cursed with nerves and nerves Of the
most sensitive and uncertain tenden.
cies. l heard him once compared b.
John Morley to d naked man on {
storm beaten heath. Even breeze
much less a tempest, could make hin
shiver in agonized pain.
Cardinal Confirms Negroes.
In st. Cyprian's church, Washington
on May IA, Cardinal Gibbons confirme,
215 children and eight adult converts