Year: 1879

Lord Beaeonsfeld On the Situation.


Lord Beaconsfields account given at the
Lord Mayors dinner, of the state of the
cheerful, not to say airy. 1t was received
with .'frantic Cheers which seems to
imply that those who heard it liked it ex-
tremely. If England is satisfied with the
account her Political High Steward renders
there is no reason why We should find
fault though it may be only simple justice
to point out that the sanguine temperament
of the Premier seems to have led
him to rather understate the difficulties
of the situation, ia its economical
aspect at least. Perhaps, moreover, 1t
would be extravagant to regard those who
delivered the s'frantic cheers" as unpreJu-
diced exponents of the opinions OF the
British people. An official dinner in the
city of London is not the place where the
harmony of applause could be rufled by
any breeze of criticism. AS well might we
expect the braves of Tammany to hoot the
wisdom of any one OF Tammanys big
Indians as for guest Of the Lord Mayor to
differ with the other guests in admiration
of ministerial words. independence opinion
will scarcely be fully satisfied with the
Minister'S explanations and hopes.


His opinion as to the likelihood that "the
darkest days Of the depression have been
seen" will scarcely encourage the country,
since it is posed upon a contingency no.
toriously impossible. Every great man
has observed at some time or another that
if the heavens should fall the event would
afford fine opportunity for any one who
wanted to catch larks; and though no
great number of people have ever looked
forward with any confidence to the
chance Of taking bird in that way,
yet it may safely be said that that
chance has the highest degree of
probability in it's favor by comparison with
the chance upon which Lord Beaconsfield
rests his hope that the darkest days are
over. 'If thera are good harvests in all
parts of the world" Yet in all those parts
of the world in which the English people
have especial and direct interest in the har-
They are in fact flooded ou.-ruined. Six
countries of Western Europe are three
hundred million bushels of wheat short of
their demand. eft there are good har-
vests in all parts of the world
believe the darkest days of the de-
preston will have been SEEN" But
it must be very well known in England
that there are not good harvests in all parts
of the world, that in many parts there are
very bad harvests, and it might have been
more satisfactory if the Earl had told Eng
land what he believed Of the depression in
view of that fact. What the circumstances
seemed to require was an orator who could
point out to the people some comforting
glimmer through the gloom actually
gathered about them; and, behold, man
who comes and shows them how clear and
bright it would be if there was no gloom
at all.


Landed property, Lord Beaconsfield in
sisted, sought to continue as at present" !"
Only his conclusion on this point has been
vouchsafed us in the meagre outline sent
by cable, but this was the really important
part of his speech, for this touches the
topic upon which opinion in England is
deeply disturbed just now, and upon
which, apparently, the next great conflict In
England is to turn. Lord Beaconsield's
words on this subject may not have gone
very deeply into its merits, but they would
be interesting as indications of what sort
of phrases can excite the enthusiasm
of those who are determined that there shall
be no change in the tenures of landed prop
erty; for these were the men who favored
his words with frantic cheers, and this was
the part of his oratory they were especially
frantic over. England's most immediate
trouble, and that which is temporarily the
worst one she has to deal with, is her bad
harvest, and that evil is not due to any
causes that laws or politicians can in any
degree control, but to year of terrible
storms Her land and labor difficulties are,
however, chronic evils that infict upon
the people every year troubles less in de-
gree but like in nature to those suffered
now through the widespread damage to
every kind OF crop. Because of the con-
slant and regular oppression of her land
and labor system the distresses due to an
unsatisfactory harvest are even far greater
than they would be in q country where the
systems are based upon some approximation
to justice-for they take out of the country
the element of financial elasticity; they
keep the people SO poor and SO wretched
that there is no step lower save that to ruin
and starvation and one bad year puts
them to that extremity.


Doubtless the tory party may, for good
while to come, successfully trife with this
important subject and cheat the country
with delusive legislation. 1t can do this
the more readily because those most op-
pressed are OF little consequence in politi-
cal sense, and because the conscience of the