A council of war never fights, and a caucus is,
after all, only an unwieldy council of war. The party managers in Man- chester have finally determined not to contest the seat. The only Liberal candidate, therefore, will be Dr. Pankhurst, who advocates Home-rule, universal suffrage of both sexes alike— thus incidentally handing over government to the women alone, who have a majority of more than half a million—the abolition of the House of Lords, and some form of nationalisation of the land. It is not believed that ordinary Liberals will vote for him, though he has agreed to give a general support to Mr. Gladstone's Government ; and the seat is, in fact, handed over to Mr. Houldsworth. The result will bring both the caucus system and three-cornered voting into great discredit. There can be' no doubt that the true motive of the decision to skulk was fear lest at the General Election all three Mem- bers should stand, and so risk the return of all three. As they could not all stand without the consent of the party, the fear shows that the Liberal caucus has no real hold over the candidates, and very little power of organisation. If Dr. Pankhurst came in and kept in at the next election, they would be rightly served, though the price is too high a one to pay for their punishment. Even now an independent candidate, relying solely on Liberalism, character, and the electors, and spending nothing, might break up the combination, and give the wire-pullers a much required lesson on the great truth that organisation is no substitute for pluck.
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