Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

Til hue is a rave touch of comedy in Lord
Rosebery's resignation of the leadership of
the Opposition in England. The Scotch
carl lias always been put forward as the
Imperialist member of the Radical party,
the only strong lopponen't of the policy of
scuttle from Egypt, and all the other Little
Englandcr tenets so dear to Mr. Gladstone
and Sir William Harconrt. Everyone remem
bers the cold shiver which ran through tho
Empire when Mr. Gladstone last came
into power, and Lord Rosebery declined
to accept the portfolio of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign diplomats, members of his own and
the Conservative party, joined in their en
treaties that lie would withdraw his refusal,
and a great sigli of relief went up when
lie finally accepted, and shortly afterwards
proved himself a thorn in tlio side of the
Glndstonian Cabinot by insisting upon stop
ping the evacuation of Uganda. It was
felt by all parties, friends and foes, that
the presence of Lord Rosebory nt the
Foreign Office was a safeguard of peace,
and a promise that the strong
foreign polioy inaugurated liy Lord
Salisbury would bo continued by
his successors. Mr. Gladstone, in spite
of all the odium which rightly or wrongly
attached to him for tho death of Gordon,
was willing, indeed anxious, to evacuate
Egypt, and so far sympathised with the
views of Mr. Labonchcrc and his Little
England party that tho editor of Truth
was not unreasonably indignant because he
was not offered a scat in Mr. Gladstone's
Cabinet. The relative positions then
occupied by Mr. Gladstone and Lord
Rosebery aro now completely reversed, and
we are treated to the spectacle of
Lord Rosebery resigning the leader
ship of the Liberal party because Mr.
Gladstone, the former apostle of peace
at any price, wishes to coerce the Snltan,
even at tbo risk of plunging Europe into all
the horrors of a goneral war. It is true
that Mr. Gladstone, baoked up by the
Nonconformist conscience, declares that if
England were to coerce her ally, whom he
pleasantly designates as " tho assassin on
" the throne of Turkey,'!', tho other Powers
wonld only grumble and not appeal to the
stern arbitrament of arms ; but unfor
tunately there is not tho slightest ground
for this optimistic hope, and Lord Rose
bery, of all people in the world, is least
likely to be led astray by suoh a will o'
tho wisp.
This is obvious when we recollect that the
policy pursued by Lord Salisbury in refer
ence to the Armenian troubles is meroly n
continuance of that bogun by Lord Rose
bory and Lord lCimberloy. For a timo last
year, when the rioting at Constantinople
rallied tho six Powers to concerted action,
it looked ns if something might bo done to
coerce tlio Sultan. At tho Mansion House
dinner, nt tho commencement of lost
November, Lord Salisbury reforrcd to " tlio
" disposition of tho Great Powers to act
" togethor, nnd the profound sense of tho
" appalling dangers which any separation of
" action might produce." But as tho
immediate need for interference died away
with the cossation of the riots England was
left alone to assist the Armenians. Russia
opposed any interference with tlio affairs of
Turkoy, and Prince Lohnnoff", who from
that timo until his recent death
controlled the sitnation, declared
that suoh interference would ho
" nn infringement of European public
" law." France, of course, enthusiastically
backed up the Rnssian Chancellor, and
Germany nnd Austria were only
nnxions to prescrvo the peace. Nor
was Prince Lobanofl' content to
hinder English intervention, hut ho
went further and declared that " England
" was chiefly responsible . . . owing
" to tho encouragement given to tlio
" Armenian committees by so many of her
" public mon and he added that he saw
nothing " to destroy his confidence in tho
" bonne volontc of the Sultan, who was, ho
" felt assured, doing his best." There is not
an iota of evidence. to lend Anyone to sup
pose, as Mr. Gladstone suggested, that
Russia would content herself' with threat
ening war if England were to attempt
to coerce the Snltan. On the other
hand, there is a superabundance of
proof that such an interference
would lead to tho declaration of war
by Turkey, in which she would bo backed
up by Russia, and in all probability by
France. Prince Lobunofi' is dead, but
there is no reason for supposing that Russia
will depart from his policy, nnd what that
policy is Lord Rosebery above all other
men must clearly know, and appreciate its
danger. No donht tho conscience, not
only of England, but of tho whole civilised
world, is outraged by the Armenian
massacres, and tlio impetuous enthusiasm
of Mr. Gladstone naturally sways the
more emotional section of his party ;
but one cannot help seeing that
Lord Kosobory, aware as he is of tlio
true position of affairs, must shrink from
the unpatriotic task of complicating tho
exceedingly difficult question which Lord
Salisbury is trying to solve. Mr. Glad
stone oxprcBscs Ills amazement that Lord
Rosebery should resign tho leadership of
the parTy, ami no doubt it must seem
strange to any person of Mr. Gladstone's
marvellous ability to change that Lord
Rosebery should not adapt himBeif to the
situation and forget all his policy in tlio
past. Tho Grand Old Man only hoars the
shrieks of the Armenian women and sees
the atrocious murders and outrages com
mitted liy tho Turks ; lie fails to realise
the widowed and orphaned homes, tho
sufferings of millions and the destruction
of property which a European war wonld
entail. In his purblind enthusiasm he is
followed by a large section of the Liberal
party, and "R was evident that a parting
of tho ways must coinc when Lord Rose
bery, if he wished to maintain his self-
respect, had to command tho obedicneo
of his party or else make way for some one
who can.
Tho strnngencss of tlio situation is
enhanced by the probability that Sir AVil-
liam Hareourt will succeed Lord Rosebory
us leader of the Opposition. Wo have
seen that his lordship was tho only strong
advocate of the Imperial principle and of a
strong foreign policy in tho . late Liberal
Government. Sir "William, after the split
in the Liberal party and the withdrawal of
Lord Ilartington and Mr. Chamberlain on
the Irish Home Rulo question, was goner-
ally supposed to bold the reversion of Mr.
Gladstone's leadership. But although an
astute politician, a brave fighter and leader
in the House of Commons, he is a man
entirely without enthusiasms — if we except
his advocacy of temperance — so that when
a more popular loader was required at the
time of Mr. Gladstone's retirement he was
passed over, not, however, without the
remonstrance of a large section of thu
party. At the time of the Bulgarian atro
cities ho supported Mr. Gladstone in his
fierce career, hut it was always question
able whether lie was not covertly
sneering at his leader's enthusiasm.
Besides, ho is a Little Englandcr and a
thorough Opportunist, and therefore
logically tho last man in the world to lead
a war party, either in or out of Parliament.
In fact, the whole situation is full of
delightful paradoxes. Lord Rosebery anil
Sir William Hareourt are as strange leaders
of the Democracy as wero Mirahcau and
Lafayette. Lord Rosebery attained power
by accepting a mandate to destroy tho
House of Peers, to which he himself
belongs. Sir William Hareourt, a man
priding himself upon his descent from the
Plantagonots and intimately bound to the
hierarchy and property owner, finds him
self disestablishing the Church in Wales
and imposing succession duties on real
property, which threaten to put an cud to
the delights of primogeniture. As to any
real sympathy with the Buffering
Armenians, one would us soon expect to find
it in a Btufl'cd muminy as in the learned
and jovial " Historicus," the grandson of
an Anglican archbishop ; yet tho irony of
circumstances is apparently about to invest
him with tho mantle of Peter the Hermit,
with a mandate from the Nonconformist
conscience to preach a new crusade against
the green Hag of Mahomet.
We can hardly take Sir John M'Intyro
seriously when he says at the Mayoral
luncheon that '" the Government is
" engaged at the present moment
" in one of the most villainous attempts
" ever made to alter the constitution of the
" colony." What is it that tho Govern
ment is doing? Chielly it proposes to
abolish plural voting, and to give the
franchise to women. Thcro is nob any
thing so terribly villainous in this,
although Sir John M'Intyro is no doubt
shocked at the proposal to prevent tho
owner of pockethnndkerohief allot
ments recording a dozen or fifteen votes.
As ia matter of fact the constitution
of Victoria docs not recognise a property
qualification for electors for the Assembly.
Tho ratepayers' roll was adopted as a
mode of registration as a matter of expe
diency. But it was only intended to
identify tbo voter. The main principle of
the constitution is that manhood alone
counts a qualification, and tbe defenco of
the proposal to sweep away the ratepayers'
roll is that it has given rise to nn erroneous
idea. An attempt is made to show that the
voter is enfranchised on account of tho
property for which he is rated, a notion
which is purely delusive. It is on the basis
of this error that we have the advocacy
of the dual vote. Now, both the dnal and
the plural vote are foreign to the principle
of the Victorian constitution. The plural
vote came into operation accidentally, the
men who framed the original Electoral
Act having had no intention of giving votes
for property. It is in order to dispose of
the erroneous notion that ratcpaying
electors vote in virtue of their holding that
the Government proposes to create a new
system of registration. The propriety of
tho chango is doubtful. What iB wanted
is the registration of as many voters as pos-
sible, and tho more automatic tlio registra
tion tlio moro effectual it will bu. But Sir
John M'Intyro is quite wrong whon ho
says that the Government proposal is
unconstitutional. It is simply a mode of
Asserting tho constitutional principle.
It was only in his capacity of leader of
the Opposition that Sir John M'Intyro told
his audience that no Govornmcnt lmd over
done so little for the colony as tho present
one. The community docs Mr. Turner
and his colleagues tho justice of saying
that thoy lmvo fulfilled tho duty which
they undertook, namely, to straighten
tho finances. The Patterson' Ministry
promised to do that, and signally
failed, and tlio present Govornmcnt is
entitled to tho credit of pushing retrench
ment ns far as possible. Saving is n
popular polioy. When Mr. Gillies wns
squandering his borrowed millions lio lmil
ample support iu tho House and iu tbe
country ; bub tbo Ministers who lmvo to
cut down expenditure are apt to create
enmities on all sides. It is significant of
the goner.al approval of tho Ministerial
modes that support has been accorded to
the Turner Ministry for such a long period.
Tliero is no desire in any quarter to
net meanly towards the public servants ;
hut there is a general conviction that tiio
administration has been framed on too
lavish a scalo and must bo reduced. The
reasonable course taken by Mr. Turner
was to lessen tho number of employes , as
vacancies occurred. Many of the depart
ments aro still over-manned, lint no one
asks that injustice shall he done by
wholesale dismissals. Vory naturally Sir
John M'Intyro desires to tako tbe place
of Mr. Turner ; but the public will
want to know on what grounds.
Tho policy of tho present Govornmcnt
lias been ono of economy, anil the people
arc hardly prepared to welcome a return
to extravagance. Yet Sir John M'Intyro
has no reason lor ousting tho present
Government unless it be for installing
another which will go in for lavish expen
diture. Sir William Zeal, notwithstanding
his surroundings, was able to declare
that the colony would bo fortunate if
it always had Ministers like the present,
Premier and Chief Secretary. Sir William
no doubt takes for what it is worth tlio
puerile contention of the Conservatives that
the Government is legislating for a class
instead of for the whole community. There
is not the slightest foundation for the
charge. What Sir John M'Intyro and
those politically associated with him desire"
is an opportunity of legislating for a class
— the class which does not need special
protection.
Tliero is much force in the remark of the
Chief Secretary that the public men who
give the host years of their life to the ser
vice of tho country should not he subjected
to unfair criticism. Perhaps Mr. Peacock
was thinking of the sewing tuition for'
hoys ; hut the criticism ou tlmt head lm3
always been goodnn-tured, and it is ad
mitted all round that Mr. Peacock is a good
administrator. It is something to boast
of tlmt without limiting thu advantages
of tho Education Act the present Govern
ment lias been able to reduce tlio expendi
ture by £281,000 per annum. It is sug
gestive of a radical defect in our system of
administration that it was possible to fool
away £281,000 a year in conneotion with
the public schools. That was the saving
eil'ected in one department j and
taking ail of them, the reduction
of expenditure under tlio auspices
of the present Government has saved the
country from ruinous taxation. The doc
tors are not very likely, then, to cashier the
servants who have done good work in
order to bring in a reactionary Government
under tho leadership of Sir John M'Intyre,
who thinks that it is a very terrible tiling
to let women vote nt political elections.
As lendor of tbo Opposition, Sir John lias
not been a success. The taotios
which necessitated an all-night sitting
over a Bill which notoriously wns hound to
pass the Assembly do not display any large
capacity. It is rather singular tlmt .the
politicians who are always declaiming
about the waste of time, and the necessity
of getting on to such practical measures
as the Mining Bill and tho Credit Fourier
Bill, delay business in such matters as
the Constitution Act Amendment Bill,
where the result is a foregone conclusion.
In that case it was understood that no
battle could he fought in the Assembly, and
it was quito absurd to keep members from
their couches to participate in a shnni
debate. It is the more to be regretted that
Parliamentary timo should be wasted in
thi3 way that the session is drawing
to its close, and some of tlio most
important measures have yet to be
considered. Tho revival in mining
is very gratifying as showing that
the auriferous resources' of the colony are
enormous, hut much of our mining legisla
tion is out of date. A now Mining Bill,
dealing with mining on privato property,
tho much-vexed question of tribute, and
other matters connected with the mining in
dustry, is urgently required. Anothcrgreat
national industry — agriculture— is vitally
interested in tho Credit Foncicr scheme,
which proposes to provide cheap money for
the farmers. It is not advisable that Bills
of so much practical importance should be
loft over to the fag end of the session. Yet
the M'Intyre policy of prolonged sittings
on measures iu connection with which
tho numbers aro up keeps hack the real
work of Parliament. It is in tho
interest of lion, members themselves that
business should bo accelerated. They have
to go before their constituents in a few
months, and they will bo glad to point to
important work accomplished. Thoy
should consequently discourage the ocean
of drivel, which occupies so much time,
and assist the Government in pushing on
the important bnsincss of the country.
$