THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1885.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 5367, 11 December 1885, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1885.

The Home elections may now be said to be practically over, and politicians who have been racked by anxiety since the dissolution of Parliament now know the strength of the respective parties and what they have to fear or hope for. The few returns still to come in when the telegram we published yesterday was despatched from Reuter's office in London cannot possibly affect the position, unlesss perhaps to make " the Liberals a little Btronger. Apart from these, there will still be a few elections necessary, as several of the leading Parnellites -Mr Parnell himself for instance — have been elected for two or three different constituencies. Fresh elections will therefore be required in all such cases. The possibility of a candidate being nominated for so many constituencies has a most anomalous appearance ; but so long as it is the law so long will party leaders avail themselves of it as may suit the exigencies of their position ; and if | worked- adroitly it frequently renders valuable assistance in party warfare. Probably one of the next electoral reforms at Home will be the adoption of the New Zealand law in making the emotions' simultaneous, and possibly also in limiting candidates to one constituency. It is scarcely worth while, for all that is likely to be gained by being nominated for more than one place, to put the country to the expense of so many unnecessary elections. The result of the appeal to Csesar shows that the heart of the people is still with the Liberal party. As usual, Scotland has stood to its colors nobly, by returning an overwhelming majority of Liberal members. Still, the returns are a little .disappointing to all parties alike, but most %!^WfotneXonservatives. The Liberals — with whom must be included the Ultra I Radicals and all who once gathered under the umberella of the G.O.M.— have not been quite so successful as sanguine supporters hoped for ; but they must be satisfied that they outnumber the Conservatives and the Home Rulers combined. They have done wonders considering all they had to contend against — Tories, Parnellites, and the feeling of Jingoism developed by the misfortunes attending the foreign policy of the Gladstone Government. The result is, therefore, a great triumph for them, and we see no reason why, under the judicious leadership of the late I Premier, the party flhould not again attain to power. We doubt the possibility of it under any other leader. He is the only man at present who has the power to reconcile the many differences of opinion between Liberals of the Goschen type and Ultra Radicals of the Chamberlain school, j Lord Salisbury must have seen that the ! electors were going against him when he announced that whatever the result was he would meet Parliament and submit his programme to it. There can be no objecjection to his doing that, though unless he j can rely upon the band of Hume Rulers he might as well throw throw up the sponge at once. Events have certainly so worked out as to gain credence for the statement made before the electors that an alliance of some sort had been arranged between Mr Parnell apd the leaders of the Conservative party. The tenderness of reference to Trish matters by Lord Randolph .Churchill, Lord Salisbury, Sir Michael Hicks- Beach and other leading members of the party, together with Mr Parnell's manifesto to the Irish voters not to. votefor Liberals or Radicals, would seem to indicate that a common understanding has been arrived at. Mr Parnell cannot be blamed for taking what advantage he can of the situation to accomplish the ends he has in view for his country. But it he intended to stand on the balance and give his weight to either party as might best suit his purpose, he needed no such manifesto. Looking at the situation dispassionately, it would seem that the Irish question Mocks the way of legislation, and that, before any continuous policy can be h«ped for, the affairs of the sister isle must be placed on an entirely new basis. Until, then, we have Lord Salisbury's programme, no one can say how parties will arrange themselves. Liberals and Conservatives alike make fair-sounding | promises in respect to giving the Irish people more control over their domestic affairs ; but if we refer to the public speeches of the leaders on both sides, it will be found that where they are not altogether vague they are extremely guarded^ It may be that the promised prograntme of the present Premier will announce a more clearly defined line of policy than has yet been foreshadowed. He will most assuredly require to do something of the kind if he expects to hold his ground at al' ; and in order to keep the Liberals out of office we should not be surprised to see the present Governm lit do, as so many Tory administrations have done before, help themselves fco fche mn&t necessary and beet fitting Liberal garments

and leave that party to acquire * new outfit as they best may. That is the only chance the Conservative have, and if they hide their blushes and come down boldly with measures opposed to all the traditions of the party, the Liberals cannot but prove true to their principles and assist in carrying out what they have always advocated. But if Mr Parnell and his lieutenants intend to be as good as their word, serious legislation will be rendered practically impossible from whatever side it may .emanate, unless Irish demands are satisfied. That is the most pressing question. The foreign policy of the country has pretty well settled itself. It is now being followed out on the lines pursued by the late Government, and the outcry raised at the failures in Egypt and Afghanistan, and Africa is' almwt forgotten. It is also tolerably clear that neither the House of Lords >ior the Church will be attacked this session. The question of how to deal with Irish affairs seems therefore to be the most likely one on which parties will join issue. [It appears from a late telegram this morning that the Liberals hay*> not been so successful as would appear to have been the case from yesterday's telegrams ; but the probability is . that they will alienate a few of the more liberally inclined Conservatives as soon as Liberal issues are submitted to the House of Commons. At least that is our view of the position.]