Widnes Examiner. — 1900-05-11 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

TON.  is public affairs nothing i 5 Want of Nerve, more likely to lead to disass ter and confusion than want of:nerve. It incapao" itates statesmen from doing the right thing et the right moment, and it leads to hesitation wile* promptneas is essential. Weak actions lead on to lack of confidence, and then strong Governmentsr come tumbling down before public disapproval' The present state of affairs, in the country and °L4 of it, calls for nerve of uncommon quality. Is it being displayed in high places at the present moment? In the conduct of the war in the field there have been delays, irritating to the public mind, and injurious to an early attainment of the end we seek, entirely due to the want of nerve e7hibited at home. It may not be easy to afaS responsibility to any one individual, but Tre know what has been lacking, and it is unnecesearY to repeat old facts and familiar criticisms. Eel" dences of the same tenuity of purpose have been seen in the military contracts inquiry. At first it seemed as if some persons were being shielded, and then there were prospects of a criminal prosecution. The prosecution was not pressed, and a committee of inquiry was granted insteso. But in the composition of that committee ecraa persons were omitted who clearly ought to have had seats upon it. No sooner had the committee got to work than an application was made—not in the interests of the army and the discovery of the truth, but for the protection of the very person; whose doings were to be investigated. A certain letter was declared to be a breach of the privilege; of the House of Commons. Ministers voted that such was the fact, and then lost nerve. The irritation this his caused cannot be understood by the mere trivial observer. Followers want leading, and there are times when they look for it in vain. Government by strong men, with a docile majority, cug,ht not to subject the country to these unpleasant incidents. It always enjoYS firmness, sound policy, and resolute actioo• When these qualities are absent it asks whither events are tending; and it receives:l no answer. The appointment of a severe critic of the Adtninistration to be Postmaster; General was another instance of want 0nerve, and the selection of a candid critic an Solicitor-General is another. Of what are Minister. afraid? That is what we all want to know. Th° Licensing Commission was appointed to lay the 1 basis of further reforms in an impartial and cool" prehensive spirit. It has done so, and el° Government is as nerveus and queer over legielir tion on the basis laid down as if it were asked t° commit political suicide. The question of Wes; sive ritual and Catholic practices in the Church he been handled in the same timid way. We were protaised legislation against aliens, and nothing more has been heard about the !natter. There wAs talk about revising the number of represent 6; tives from ha I incl. There is a demand for subniaill beats. A committee of inquiry into the manage: ment of the War Office has been promised, nothing has been done. Everywhere we detect I lack of nerve, not due to the overshadowing ill' fluence of the war, but to some mental defects in the Administration itself. It is clearly time the country began to review these signs and Wild toms, in preparation for a great decision.  THERE is something ill _e French Nationalism political person. The French . Nationalists have got a title it they have tailed to seure a man. Is not ever' cow' clear that they have got a cause. They are of a heterogeneous mass of conabustibles,and that is all. If we scrutinise their ranks, we shah! flan ia them anti-Dreyfusites, anti-Semi tes, anti: Republicans, and every form of discontented allai reactionary politicians, with some Socialists aec: Radicals. Their success in the Paris municipal elections, where they have gained seats, estimate(' at from eight to twelve, at an enormous expend!" tine, of money and effort, is notable, and it will' be interesting to see what comes of the vletorY• The ordinary Republicans underestimated the vigceir of the attack upon them and the effect 04 -various dividing agencies and cries. They seem to have been unprepared for such a political rash, and they have suffered in censequence. Elsewhere, the Republicans hore done very well, holding their own,generally speak" ing, and even gaining seats in one or two places; craze a P° delusive iv dean title, It is clear, therefore, that, as far as the munieiPe) elections are a political barometer, Nationalis notraz yet a n m 15 It id i t s at is pnoor e u tallo numerically strong in Paris a the Boulangist na°'o. ment was, to which it bears so close a resemblance' On Sunday about iso,ooo votes are claimed ° have eon polled for the Nationalists. Twelvs, years ago, on a like occasion, the Boulangists aew 227,000 votes. Yet the Republic was as oneft.cted by Binlangisin as it likely to be 1111.touched by Nationalism. The Nationalists OP" tau' in thomselves the quick seeds of their own dissolution. _Excitements created and sustained by money are apt to decay as suddenly as theY arLie. Their birth-throes are trerr encious,and the result is rarely permanent or effective.