Untitled

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8888, 26 May 1892, Page 4

The general election in England, of which we have heard so much, is, we are now informed, fixed for the 14th of June. A very great interest will be attached to the event. The last general election took place in 1886, and the result was to place in power the Conservative party, with the Earl of Salisbury as Premier. This Administration has remained in office ever since, and they have undeniably a good record. There is nothing to be laid to their account like the mistakes of the previous Administration in Egypt, at Penjdeh, in South Africa, and in Ireland. The Salisbury Ministry can claim to have been successful in the administration of the navy, the army, foreign affairs, and Ireland. In respect to Ireland, they have brought about a state of peace and obedience to the law, while at the same time they have done much to improve the land laws. They claim also, in finance, that the debt of the country will be reduced substantially and practically by not less than 100 millions. In a speech delivered on April 3, at the Conservative Club, Mr. A. J. Balfour, who is now leader of the House or Commons, summed up the position as between the parties thus "It is not the empty promises made upon the platforms which ought to, or which will, gain the suffrages of the country. It is the practical evidence of practical ability ; it is the proof given in every department— not in one department, but in every department —of our power to deal with the ever-changing problems which civilised society offers to us (cheers); it is the proof we have given that we, at all events, who may claim to bo representatives of the Unionist party, are not deaf to the voices that cry to us from any class in the community ; that we are prepared to deal with every question as it arises, not in the spirit of reckless political gamblers, but in the spirit of practical politicians, who desire to see practical benefits conferred upon the population of this country. The country may prefer the gamblers. Ido not "think they —(cheers)—but they may. Whether they do so or not, we, at all events I trust, will never make ourselves parties to schemes which we know must end in disaster and ruin, be the phrases in which they are clothed never so seductive." The Salisbury Government has been in office for six years, and what may be called the natural inclination of the English people in such circumstances, is to make a change, and give another set of statesmen a chance. Mr. Gladstone promises Home Rule for Ireland, and Lord Salisbury has said that that practically meant the introduction of a state of war. Whatever may be the outcome of the election, the Salisbury Administration of 1886-92 will rank in history as one of the most successful Governments Great Britain has ever had. It has committed no blunders of any magnitude; it has waged no costly war ; it has not increased fiscal burdens upon the people.