TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE NEWCASTLE ELECTION. TROUGH we should have certainly endeavoured to obtain the rejection of Mr. Morley for Newcastle, it is impossible even for us to grieve over his success after the very manly resistance which he offered to the Eight-. Hours Bill. No foreigner who watches our elections would hesitate to assert, indeed, that we take unusual pains to make it as difficult as possible to draw any clear and de- cisive inference concerning the motives of English electors. Nothing can be clearer than that a very decided Unionist might have thought it his duty to vote for Mr. Morley, or a very decided Home-ruler for Mr. Ralli; and this not- withstanding the fact that Mr. Morley and his friends repeatedly insisted that the main issue was the ques- tion of Irish Home-rule, while Mr. Rani concurred tacitly in that assurance. For the questions which most embarrassed the electors were entirely independent of Home-rule,- the most serious, perhaps, being the importance of support- ing an independent politician in refusing to accept the posi- tion of a mere delegate, when he himself did not agree with the political views of the most dictatorial section of his constituents ; the next in importance being the quite different question whether or not the Legislature ought to interfere with the hours of labour when it is extremely doubtful whether the matter cannot be determined quite as much in the interest of working men's leisure by the refusal of the labouring class to work for employers who insist on a longer day's work ; and next, whether, even if it be not so, the working class will not suffer much more by a cut-and-dried rule which cannot be broken through, than by occasional extensions of the working day to eight and a half or even nine hours. Probably many a Unionist who thought the concession of Irish Home-rule a pure evil, voted for Mr. Morley because he was still more deeply impressed with the duty of sup- porting a manly and independent candidate who had done himself great honour by refusing to be a mere delegate at the bidding of an obstinate clique of labourers with whom he honestly differed, and differed very gravely. Probably, too, many a hearty Unionist who cared very little about Mr. Morley's manly assertion of his independent con- victions, nevertheless voted for him because he thought the interference of the Legislature in a matter of this kind either premature or positively mischievous. And, again, many a hearty Home-ruler no doubt voted for Mr. Ralli because he cared even more for initiating the eight- hours day, and for making an example of a statesman who had so resolutely opposed it, than he did even for obtaining for the Irish people a Dublin Parliament and a Dublin Administration. Unionists, and even very strong Unionists, dread so profoundly the reducing of states- men to the condition of pure delegates, and were so much offended by the concessions made by Mr. Ralli to the Eight-Hours Party only for the sake of gain- ing votes, that they felt a protest in favour of the Member's independence even more important than the carrying of a single constituency for the Union, while Home-rulers, and even very strong Home-rulers, felt so keenly Mr. Morley's determination to stand in the breach on the legislative Eight-Hours Question, that they cared. even more to overcome his resist- awe and give him what they thought a salutary lesson, than they cared to carry a single constituency for Home- rule at such a juncture as this. They thought pro- bably that, whether the Home-rule majority was 39 or 40 does not matter so very much that they could not afford to make Mr. Morley feel their power by sending him in search of another constituency more indifferent to the Eight-Hours Question than is Newcastle. Thus it hap- pened that many of the Conservative instincts of Unionists pleaded hard in this case for Mr. Morley, while many of the democratic instincts of Home-rulers pleaded equally hard for Mr. Ralli, who went a long way towards satisfying the dictatorial instincts of the Labour Party. Thus, notwithstanding the exhortations of both candi- dates to let the election turn on the Irish Question, it is quite impossible to say whether it did turn chiefly on the Irish Question or not. It is pretty certain that a good many strenuous Unionists supported Mr. Morley because he was assailed so unjustly for taking an independent line of his own, and that a large number of genuine Home- rulers supported Mr. Ralli on the ground that he would sup-- port a legislative eight hoursfor miners, and for thework-merr in other specially exhausting or unhealthy occupations. It seems to us, therefore, impossible for the victorious. party to attach any very great importance to their victory. It is all but certain that each of the candidates received a good deaf of help from the opposite camp,—Mr. Rani from the democrats who would not have supported him on the Union Question taken alone, and Mr. Morley from the Constitutionalists who would not have supported him on the Home-rule Question taken alone. It must have been, indeed, unusually difficult for an elector of either party to make up his mind bow to vote. Many probably said to themselves : 'Well, as they themselves say the chief issue is the Irish Question, we will make the chief issue the Irish Question, though we ourselves attach quite as much importance to the cross issues in- volved.' But many of them must also have said to them- selves : In this case the cross issues are clearly more important than that which they choose to tell us is the main issue. The whole world is looking for the verdict which Mr. Morley's tenacity of purpose has challenged, and we must vote rather on our approval or disapproval of his attitude on the Eight-Hours Question than on the issue which he chooses to define as the main issue before us.' Certainly it is quite impossible for the Home-rulers to maintain that because they have got the victory New- castle is for the Irish Party. And, indeed, if they had been beaten, we should have held it to be quite impossible to maintain that Mr. Ralli had carried the constituency for the Union, and not rather for an Eight-Hours Bill. If we could apply the Referendum first on the Home-rule Ques- tion, and next on the Hours of Labour Question, without reference to either Mr. Morley's or Mr. RAM's claims, we should then ascertain what Newcastle wishes in these matters. As it is, we can only judge that in all probability respect for Mr. Morley, and a great reluctance to sever the old connection, has carried his election, in spite of very great disinclination on the part of numbers who voted for him to appear in any sense favourable to Irish Home-rule. In this ease, dislike to the dictatorial attitude of democracy has probably carried the election of a manly and inde- pendent democrat.
The numbers appear to show that quite as much interest was taken in this election as in the election a month ago. We find that the total number of voters who regie- tered their votes in July was about 24,728, while the total number who voted on Thursday was 24,227, a very slight falling off, considering that August is a, holiday month with so many voters. We do not deny that, as the contest was fought, we should have liked to see Newcastle declaring against the tinkering of the Union with Ireland, while now no one can say what Newcastle thinks, since Mr. Hamond, who is the senior Member, and polled the largest number of votes, declares against this tinkering ; while Mr. Morley, who is the last returned, is to be, if not the chief tinker, at least the chief journeyman in the attempt which Mr. Gladstone is about to make. But we find the greatest consolation under the defeat, in recognising the respect which Mr. Morley's manly conduct on the Eight-Hours Question has inspired, and the evident sense of loyalty to an upright and vigorous statesman whose faithfulness to his professions has filled even his bitterest opponents with admiration.
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