THE FIRST STEP.
TORD SALISBURY will shortly have the opportunity of 41 his life. It is evident, from the way the Elections are going, that substantial power in the new Parliament must fall into his hands. The Unionist seceders have not gained in numbers during the struggle, while the Conservatives have, mainly through determined Unionist support ; and Sir M. Hicks-Beach will in August lead the largest, most united, and best disciplined party in the House of Commons. If Lord Salisbury, therefore, ruling the Lards already, chooses to claim power for his own party alone, he must have it ; and Lord Hartington and his followers must stand aside, benevolently supporting, and when necessary moderating, a strictly Conser- vative Cabinet. They will, we believe, have the power to do this, because, unless the counties become Conservative in an un- expectedly large proportion, the Unionists will hold the position formerly occupied by the Parnellites, and the transfer of their votes, if their moderate counsels are set aside, would destroy the solidity of the majority, and consequently its efficacy for government. An Administration so tempered would no doubt, under existing circumstances, be an endurable, and might be a successful one ; but it would be by no means the best Administration that could be formed, even if judged from the Conservative point of view. The object of that party, now that the error of the great Liberal leader has thrown power into their hands, should be to bring themselves into harmony with the day,—rot by preaching the dishonest nonsense sometimes called Tory democracy, but by displaying a readiness to unite with or follow men who, like the original Peelites, while essentially and genuinely Con- servative, are willing to carry out the wisely Liberal measures demanded by the needs of the time. It is only by a reconstruction of that kind that the Tories can accrete to themselves the support of all kinds of conservative opinion latent within the Kingdom, and make of themselves a party able to govern, as the Republicans have done in America, for twenty years, and even when beaten to moderate seriously the course of legislative progress. Lord Salisbury, therefore, should, if be is wise, postpone his own admitted claims, and those of some immediate followers, and allow the group of Unionist officers, in spite of their comparatively insignificant following, to assist in forming a Government under Lord Hartington as Premier, reserving to himself only the Foreign Secretary- ship and the Leadership of the Lords. Such a Govern- ment would be exceedingly strong in ability, for with the exception of Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Morley, scarcely a first-class commoner remained in the Home-rule ranks ; it would be exceedingly strong in numbers, for it would con- trol a majority of at least seventy ; and it would be necessarily Conservative in the highest sense, for without Conservative consent Lord Hartington could do nothing. It would be, in fact, to employ our old political nomenclature, the disuse of which is greatly to be regretted, a Whig Government, such as the better Conservatives, including Lord Salisbury himself, have for years professed to desire. It would deal with the Irish Question without violence or oppression, as mainly a social and agrarian, rather than a political one, and with the en- franchisement of the soil and the remodelling of county govern- ment upon Lord Hartington's well-known principles, which are accepted by all reasonable Liberals, and of which Conservatives
are not afraid. There is not an honest Tory in the country who would say that he dreaded such a Government, or would deny that he saw in its formation a new hope for the cause of rational, moderate, and popular Conservatism ; while no Moderate Liberal would shiver. He has always the resource, if he is asked to yield too much, of remaking a majority. It is, we are perfectly sensible, a very great thing we are
asking of Lord Salisbury,--so great a thing, that our hope is by no means as strong as our conviction. The Premier in this country, though nominally only one of many, is really so com- pletely the head of the Government, that he gives his name to it, and occupies a special position upon the page of history. Historians scarcely care to remember the names even of power- ful members of the Cabinet, and in some instances—e.g., that of Lord Liverpool—attribute to an insignificant chief the work of an entire Administration. To forego such a posi- tion even for a time would be an act of self-sacrifice on Lord Salisbury's part, none the less painful because it would
involve a certain pressure upon colleagues, particularly the present leader in the Commons, to all of whom Lord Salisbury is under great party obligations. The new Premier would lead for himself, and with his own followers behind him, would scarcely seek further help in the business of debate. It would be painful to Lord Salisbury to accede to such an arrange- ment; but the advantage to his cause would be immeasurable. It would gain a whole body of new officers at once. The long- sought Liberal-Conservative Party, which should represent all that is Liberal and yet moderate in the country, would be formed at last, and with its majority in Parliament, would draw to itself support from every section of the Kingdom, including, it may ha, Ireland, where there are thousands now counted among Parnellites who would hail the restoration of order if accom- panied by a settlement of the agrarian trouble. Whole bodies of men could and would follow Lord Hartington who would look with distrust upon a Government composed solely of old Conservatives, doubting if such a body could ever be sincerely Liberal. He would be held to represent Moderate Liberalism as well as the Union, and would, therefore, be accepted by men who have no intention of becoming Tories, but are pining for a strong Government which should be moderate, yet in no way disposed to a policy of mere resistance. They would feel that Lord Hartington was certain to liberali3e his Cabinet, which, indeed, would not be a Tory one, and that the steady progress they desire might be slow, but would be permanently secured. The progress of events would speedily liberalise the new party still further, until it became a Con- stitutional one, resisting resolutely projects like Home-rule and Federalism, but granting quickly and thoroughly all reforms earnestly desired by any large section of the people. A Hartington Government could even initiate reforms as a Salisbury Government could not, venturing upon proposals which, if mere Tories made them, would immediately be the occasions of party suspicion and resistance. They could, for example, attempt reforms in Ireland which would be hope- less were not both parties convinced that moderate men of both opinions believed them to be wise.
We believe that such an arrangement, a Hartington Govern- ment with Tories entering freely into it as Liberal-Conserva-
tives, would meet with little serious criticism, much less resistance, within the Conservative ranks. Deep down in the heart of that party is the sense that it needs remodelling, that it has somehow lost touch with the people, and that it needs with fresh blood a less purely negative programme. It was this feeling which produced the sort of toleration shown towards Tory Democracy, which, nevertheless, those who tolerated it felt to be no expression of the Conservative feeling which never entirely quits the body of the English people. It was this which produced the constant outcry that the Whigs ought to come over and help them, always followed by the wail that somehow the Whigs could not be induced to do it. And it was this which induced decent men, usually utterly intolerant of treachery, to shut their eyes to the intrigue by which Sir Stafford Northcote was pitchforked into the Upper House. Those who raised the cry to the Whigs, which had its source in a very real desire, will welcome with delight a Harlington Administration, as calculated to realise all their dreams without incurring the odium which attaches to the word "coalition." It will be union that has taken place, not coalition. Nobody abandons any principle, least of all the new head of her Majesty's Government, who remains what he has always been,—a Whig with a disposition
to large reform. All that is surrendered by Moderate Liberals is something in their pace, and that only while Ireland blocks the way ; while all that is given up by Conservatives is a resistance which they know to be ineffectual. They are heartily with Lord Hartington upon Ireland, while they have no real desire either to oppose Land Reform, or to contend with useless peevishness against elective county government. Those are the domestic subjects of the hour, and will amply supply work for a single Parliament, while as regards foreign affairs, there is absolutely no difference of opinion. It is not only that Lord Hartington agrees with Lord Salisbury's foreign policy ; Mr. Gladstone also agreed with it, and except as regards Egypt, it meets with no opposition out of doors. The scheme is, we are convinced, practicable, and would result in the formation of a new and effective Liberal-Conservative Party ; but we admit it demands from Lord Salisbury and his nearest colleagues a degree of self-abnegation such as poli- ticians are rarely prepared to show. Soldiers show it ; but then, soldiers know they are dealing with human lives.
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