SAN FRANCISCO MAIL NEWS.

Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 106, 1 November 1900, Page 2

SAN FRANCISCO MAIL NEWS.

(SPECTATOR SUMMARY.) # I LONDON, 22nd September. THE GENERAL ELECTION. The results of the election will, of course, be awaited with interest — that is inevitable— but it is clear that there will be nothing like the excitement that usually marks an appeal to the electors. The truth is, the country is jaded, and for the moment feels little or no enthusiasm for either men or causes. If we were asked to diagnose the feeling of the ordinary rank-aud-file among the voters, 'we should say that they felt as follows. They fere in no sort of way ashamed of the wa/, nor have they any misgivings as to its righteousness. They are determined to keep the Republics within the Empire, and to tolerate nothing approaching m the faintest degree a Majuba -settlement, and if there were any question of foreign intervention, which there is not, they would tight all Europe rather than yield an inch. They feel no confidence in the ability of the Liberal party to handle the affairs of the Empire. At the same time, they do not feel satisfied with the working of the present Cabinet. They have not lost confidence in the ruling members of the Ministry individually, and still believe, for example, in Lord Salisbury, Mr. Balfoitr, Sir Michael' Hicks-Beach, and Mr. Chamberlain ; but, rightly or wrongly, they think that there has been a want of businesslike management in the conduct oif national affairs as & whole. In short, the electors, , while they feel that the Liberals 'are impossible and realise that they must employ the Unionists, hold that the Cabinet as at present organised is not altogether satisfactory. Out of this conflict of views we venture to believe that the result will be the return of the Unionists in a large but nevertheless diminished majority. At the same time, the manner of electing this majprity will moke it clear that what the country wants is greater attention to efficiency of administration (especially in the departments of national defence) — an efficiency to be secured, in the first place, by the possession of a real Prime Minister and a reduction in the size of the Cabinet. THE LATE PARLIAMENT. The Parliament which has just passed away is not one which will be remembered in history except as an illustration of the truth that a Parliamentary Constitution only works really well when there is an efficient and well-balanced party system. In the late House of Commons the Government was demoralised by its strength, and the Opposition by its weakness. The split -in the Liberal ranks, owing to the deadly feud between ' Sir j William HarcoUrt and Lord Rosebefy, j seemed at first sight a gain for the Gov- | ernment. In reality it daalfc the Government a most heavy blow by depriving it of all effective, and so invigorating, criticism. , A party which is not stimulated by external criticism is always apt to be enervated by ' internal lassitude, and so it proved in the present case; A capital proof of this weakness was afforded by their inability to deal with the Irish University question. They had , a unique occasion to do jxtstice to Roman Catholic Ireland on this subject, and Mr. Balfour showed himself by his admirable speech to be fully alive to the greatness 01 .this opportunity, and yet the Government did nothing — paralysed, as it were, by their big battalions. It is greatly to be hoped that the dissolution will break the spell, and that in a reiDVtgorated Unionist Cabinet the nation may get the advantages it ought to have when served by a body of men so remarkable alike in intellect, character, and devotion to the public service as are the bulk of the present Ministry. ._ , MR. BALFOUR'S ADDRESS. Mr. Balfour issued his election address on Thursday night. After boldly declaring his belief that it would be impossible to find in the history of this country "any Parliamenb which has more successfully carried out the policy, or more adequately fulfilled the hopes, of those who returned the majority to power," Mr. Balfour most truly says that the war was not of our seeking, but that having been forced upon us, "it has served to show the world now great are the moral as well as the material resources which this Empire wields in times of national emergency." Mr. Balfour ends by what is in -effect a promise of Army reform. We fear that the effect on the country of Mr. Balfour's address may be toMnake a certain section of the party think that he does not realise that there has been anything that in the least justifies the criticism that the Government has received, and to render them doubtful as to whether he posseses that high seriousness which should rightly belong to a statesman. But if any electors should harbour this doubt as to' Mr. Balfour, they will be entirely mistaken. In spite of the fact that there are certtun things in Mr. Balfour'e attitude towards public afiairs that we regret, it is our deliberate opinion that he is a statesman whose influence the country could not lose without much serious injury. He is essentially a man of large and liberal ideas, and fully worthy ot the confidence of the nation. Of his devotion to his country there can be no question, and in spite of all the accusations of indifference that have been levelled against him, we will venture to say of him, as Brougham said of Wellington, "That man would serve his country with a spade if he could serve her in no other way." MR. CHAMBERLAIN'S ADDRESS. Mr. Chamberlain's address, also issued on Thursday, deals, as might be expected, chiefly with the South African; War and the settlement. He shows how ' monstrous is the accusation that the Government precipitated the war, and then asks whether the sacrifices made to repel the Boer attack and to secure the future peace of South Africa are to be thrown away. Mr. Chamberlain goes on to give an outline of the nature of the final settlement which will afford satisfaction to all who desire that the free traditions of our colonial system shall be maintained. It is, he declares, the policy of the Government that "after a period of administration, backed by military force, the length of which will depena on the readiness with which the Boer populations accept the British flag, the people of the two States shall be received into the Empire on the footing of self-govern-ing colonies, in which position they will enjoy more liberty than they ever did before, and an equality of rights and privileges which they have persistently denied to the British in their midst. This clear and specific statement should surely be enough to silence the ignorant or malignant statements of those who declare that the Government and its supporters were anxious to annex the Republics in order t6 plunder them of their land and their gold, and desired to reduce their inhabitants to slavery. The late Republics will have a freedom of government such as they never possessed before as soon as we can be sure that tne Boer will not use the powers entrusted to him, to put his foot once more on the neck of the Outlander. THE NATIONALIST PARTY IN PARIS. The Nationalist party in Paris has levelled a cunning blow at the Government, which has fallen Bhoit, however. The President of the municipality, M. • Grebauval, invited all the Mayors of the | Communes of France, fifteen thousand in number, to a grand banquet at the Hotel de Ville, to which he did not invite

either M. Loubet or his Ministers. He also invited the Lord Mayor of London, w,ho in France is considered a very grand personage indeed. The intention was to represent that "all France" having accepted the invitation of a Nationalist municipality, all France wa 1 * hostile to* tihe Government. Unfortunately only sixteen hundred- Mayors accepted, and "though M. Grebauvol trieo; £o mend his manners by inviting the President, his invitation waß not only refuead, but M. Lbubet, whb can be ruse when needful, delivered a coßnterstroke by inviting all Mayors and other; notables to a grand banquet in the Tuilftries gardehs. There were not les« than twenty-two thousand acceptances, and M. Grebauval, baffled and overcrowed, abandoned his project. His defeat suggests that the Republic is stronger in the provinces than was imagined. It also releases the Lord Mayor from a difficulty. Sir Alfred Newton had not the smallest idea of offering an affront to M. Loubet, yet it was difficult to withdraw an acceptance given in ignorance df the facts. Lord Mayors, it is said, should not be quite so innocent, but wa do not see ourselves how. Sir Alfred Newton could do otherwise than accept an invitation from the Lord Mayor of Paris. He could not interfere in«the internal politics of France by refusing. MB. MANIFESTO. Mr. Bryan, the candidate of the Democratic party for the American Presidency, has issued a manifesto announcing the principles upon which he will conduct the contest. He declares against trusts, and is on the workmen's side in almost all questions between them and capitalists, and he is still for silver at the ratio of sixteen to one, but the main point of his manifesto is his denunciation of Imperialism. Both parties, he says, recognise the independence of Cuba in principle, but he will not trust the Republicans, who are tainted with the colonial idea, to carry the principle out. He believes the matter to be one of urgent importance, declaring that "the nation will find it a long and laborious taefc to regain its prou^d position among the nations if under the stress of temptation it should repudiate self-evident truths proclaimed by its heroic ancestors, sacredly treasured during a career unparalleled in tho annals of time." The "self-evident tiuth" is, of course, the right of a people to choose its own Govercment ; but Mr. Bryan, as we are credibly assured, does not propose to restore New Mexico to the --.ixicans. The prospect? oi the election are still dark. In most countries Mr. Brjan, as the chosen candidate of. the "have nots," would have the best chance by far, but in America, as hu Great Britain, the immense army of the ''haves" is reinforced by the still larger army of those who wish to have. THE MORTALITY IN GALVESTON. The official accounts of the mortality in GalvestoD reduce the number of ascertained deaths to four thousand five hundred, but this appears to be independent of the returns from many scattered villages, which are said by the Governor of Xexas to bring the total deaths up to twelve thousand. In one watering-place with a thousand houses, mostly of wood, every house was destroyed, and four hundred persons killed at once. The ruin appears to have been even more complete tnan was reported, and has induced some eminent flims in Londan, with Messrs. Baring at their head, to open a subscription for sufferers by "a calamity which cannot be exaggerated." It is most improbable, it should be recollected, that the people of Galveston were insured against flood or cyclones, and that method of distributing, and therefore alleviating, loss, which helped to revive the energy of Chicago when the city was burned, is necessari.y absent. LITERARY CANDIDATES. One of the noticeable' features of the electioneering campaign is the number of literary candidates. No fewer than five novelists are mentioned as likely to stand, including Dr. Conan Doyle, Mr. Gilbert Parker, and Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins. It should not be forgotten, however, that Disraeli was famous as' a novelist before he made his mark in the House, that Bulwer Lytton wrote "Pejham" three years before he entered Parliament, and that Thackeray stood for Oxford in the heydey of his fame. The literary man is not always a success in politics, but the candidates we have mentioned have other credentials besides their popularity with the reading public. Mr. Hawkins is an old President of the Oxford Union, and was a Parliamentary candidate as far back as 1892, two years before Ruritania was discovered j Mr. Gilbert Parker is a nativeborn" Canadian; and Dr. Conan Doyle has rendered his country splendid though unobtrusive work in fighting the enteric epidemic at Bloemfontein. Men of this stamp, in whom there is nothing of the doctrinaire or the professional politician, shoiua prove a< decided source of strength to the House. AS OTHERS SEE US. A writer in Die Information pf last Saturday makes the following interesting comments : — "The war has resulted in the complete annihilation of both South African Republics, and of all the terrible disasters which were said to be about tp befall England not a single one has happened. No Jiuropean or extra-European P, ower has interfered, and the bonds wnich link the British Motherland to her colonies have even been strengthened. Nevertheless," he goes on, "England must pro-ceed-at once to a root-and-branch reorganisation of her military system, and Lord Roberts, who returns to England in October to sueaed Lord Wolseley as Commander-in-Chief, Will have to carry through this task together witb Lord Kitchener." We note that the writer in his comments on the impending general election, and the prospects of the .return of the Unionists with a large majority, lays stress on the lT&cessity of reconstruction in the Cabinet. It may be explained for the benefit of those who have never seen Die Information that it is not a newspaper of the ordinary type, but a small, highly-priced news-sheet published darlv in Vienna, circulating almost exclusively among politicians, and commanding exceptional and intimate sources of information in Austria, Germany, and the Balkan States, and indeed throughout Europe. THE DUKE OF YORK. The Queen, mindful of the splendid loyalty recently shown by Australia, has, in a most kindly message, permitted the Duke of York bo open the first session of the first Australian Parliament, and me Duke will sail southwards in command of two Royal yachts and a small squadron of cruisers. ' The arrangement, which has fiven acute pleasure to the . colonists, is oth a gracious and a wise ' one— - wise because it recognises in a striking way the position of Australia as an integral factor in the Empire, gracious oecaitse ifc shows that the Royal house heartily approves that recognition. "It is only a ceremony/ say those who object, "and will cost money" ; but ceremonies are symbols, arwl the money which helps to bring us allies like the Australian horsemen is money well laid ( out. The Monarchy is the symbol df our anity, and anything which brings its existence pleasantly before any separate section of the Queen's dominion helps to bind th& chain which the war in South Africa has shown to be one of steel.

"Bankrupt was unfortunate financially," pleaded counsel in a Court on the West Coast. "His credit or 3 were," replied Judge Ward.