Year: 1872

The Political Questions OF tho Hour


In England.


In view Of the probable reassembling Of the
British Parliament within few weeks from the
present time some little anxiety begins to be
manifested in political circles as to what shall be
Mr. Gladstones next programme of reform. 1t
is universally admitted that to sustain his pop
ularity and his power the Prime Minister
must bring forward in the next session of Par
Lament another grand and sweeping measure
of reform. Mr.. Gladstone's career as Prime
Minister has been singularly sensational. He
has been great reformer, and his reforms
have all been on a scale of unusual magnitude.
He has been but four years in power yet, in
addition to reforms Of minor Importance, he has
disestablished the Episcopal Church in Ireland,
nightly improved the Irish law of land tenure,
abolished the system Of purchase in the British
army, passed education bills Of a satisfactory
kind for England and Scotland, and has won,
as some think, diplomatic triumph in the
Geneva settlement OF the Alabama difficulty
between Great Britain and the United States.
In the same number Of years no Prime Minis
ter Of England has ever before successfully
carried through SO many and SO great meas
ures of refaxm. He has done SO much, he has
removed SO many grievances out Of the way, it
is difficult to conceive what is to be his next
great undertaking.


1t has for some time been whispered that
Mr.. Gladstone intended to surprise the British
public by grand comprehensive measure hav-
ing for its object the extension of municipal
privileges based on the principle Of
local taxation. Such q measure if well
conceived, would commend itself to
the general public, and, if successfully
carried through, could hardly fail to make
an end of home rule agitation in Ireland. The
Imperial Parliament has long been burdened
with too much work, and the feeling has Of
late years become general that much of
this work might be better done by local par
iaments or municipal councils The division
of Ireland into four sections, Of Scotland into
two or three and of England into six, with
something like our State Assemblies, attending
to the interests Of each secion-such has
been said to be Mr. Gladstones next intended
surprise If, however, such be the intention,
the ministerial secret has been well kept, for
to-day no one seems to know what Mr.. Glad
stone intends to do. There has been some
talk Of grand movement to secure the separ-
alton of Church and State in Scotland and Eng
land similar to that which has been effected
in Ireland. There has been talk, also,
of some movement in favor Of mod
ification of the law of entail. But the
appointment of Sir Rounded Palmer to the
office of Lord Chancellor, who is opposed to
rash and radical changes, and the absence of
any really vigorous agitation in support Of
these latter reforms, leaves us little reason to
expect that in the forthcoming session of
Parliament either the Church or the land will
be disturbed by Parliamentary legislation
The confederation Of the colonies with the
mother country, much in favor with many
persons, has not yet sufficiently ripened We
are prepared to expect to have it announced in
the Queens next speech that measures have
been adopted by Her Majesty for the improve
ment of local taxation and for the extension of
municipal privileges. Such measure will give
birth to great excitement and may lead to
strange and unforeseen results.