The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1882-11-11 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTE'S  RIVAL.  The rising hope of the more truculent section of the Conservative party, Sir Rand Iph Churchill, has boldly thrown down the gauntlet -to Sir Staffoid Northcote. He has told that mi,gui ed gentleMan what he ought to do at the present crisis to complete the overthrow of the Goveinment, which is, if we may b lieve this spirited scion ot the ducal house of Marlborough, on its last legs. The misfortun , from the Churchill point of view, is that the nominal Conservative leader in the House of Comm ,ns does not take quite such a sanguine view of the Situation as his young rival, who appeals so exceedingly anxious to bowl hitn over. Though he is quiet, he is also dogged, and, therefore, it is quite on the cards that he will not be stirred into am ion even by the extraordinary manifesto which appeared in the Times on Monday. Yet, according to that manifesto, he and his friends have very little to do to ensure their return to office at a very little date. Their little game, it appears, ought to be to deliberately obstruct and prevent the passing of the Procedure resolutions until Mr. Gladstone has been forced to make an appeal to the constituenci s. Sir Randolph Churchill regards the prospect of such an appeal with undisguised gl. efulness. He says—" There can be little doubt that the majoritr in a new Pariiament, however transient or heterogeneous in its composition, will be opposed, as a majority of the House of Coulmons, to clolure. The issues of a general election sire always dubious, but this may be affirmed with an amount of certainty not generally available, that the Irish party following the lead of Mr. Parnell would be doubled, perhaps almost trebled. It is in the highest degree unlikely that the numerical strength of the Conservative party would be in any way lessened. The by-electious of 1880 and 1881, the municipal elections ot 1881 and 1882, show conclusively that the Conservative party does more than hold its own. To anyone acquainted with the strength of parties in the present House of Commons this will demonstrate that an appeal to the constituencies would be decisive against cloture and in favour 31 freedom of speech." The further he goes on the more ecstatic he becomes. "Nor," he continues, "in my opinion could the Tory party choose a better moment or a more advantageous battlefield than is now offered to them. I have alluded to the favourable omens of the by-election and the municipal contests, and the Government will be heavily handicapped at the. polls. Numerous and important Ministerial defections have already cooled the enthuSkarn of their Liberal supporters in 1880. The inglorious Transvaal campaign, the abnormal administrative failures in Irelend, a weak revenue, an increasing expenditure, a dead-alive  state of trade will have to be laboriously defended before an unsympathising jury. In addition, an anxious public finds itself in armed occupation of Ervpt, unknown military liabilities before it, no policy avowed which can give a hope of a speedy termination of our dang, r,us uncertainties, the discussion of which the Government will be glad to suppress. The Tory party will with ease develop theso political advantages, placing at the head of their policy, 'Freedom of speech for the Commons.' " There is a candour, not to say audacity, about this quite refreshing ; and, in the face of it, we must admit that Lord Randolph Churchill has really very fine imaginative powers- But has he not laid the colours on his deligh ful picture just a trifle too thickly? When ht talks about the weak revenue, the atinormal administrative fa lures in Ireland, and a deadalive state of trade, we fear that some persons, and those not altogether of the Liberal persuasion, will consider that he is talking nonsense. However, it would, perhaps, unkind to say anything to hurt his feelings, for at the end of his memorable manifesto he shows that his exhilaration has to a very large extent been "put on," and that, down at the bottom of his heart, he is in his calmer m,ments a gloomy and well-nigh hopeless politician. "No one," he groans, "can foretell the result of such a battle; better auspices would be impossible. Such is one view of the situation. On the other hand, if this opportunity is neglected, either from pusillanimity or political miscalculation, cloture becomes the law of Parliament, and under its baneful influence legislation aimed at the vitals of the Tory party will be pressed home. In two or three years, when this Parliament draws tc a natural close, the Liberals may have successfully manipulated the electorate and the chance of the Tories will be gone." In view of this it seems to us that Lord Randolph is bent on playing the part of the desperate gambler. But it seems unlikely that he will be able to p muade his more prudent political companions to court another such "dressing" as they received at the last general election. Sir Stafford Northcote has a cool head, and he will, probably, decide that he had better allow the electorate to be manipulated than at once do something akin to committing downright suicide in a political sense. Of course, when Lord Randolph Churchill lefers to the con templated manipulation of the electorate he refers to the reform of the County Franchise, which all liberal-minded people rejoice to see looming ahead.