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Show THE FALL OF BALFOUR. The Balfour government draws near the abyss of dissolution. The ears of England's premier have been greeted in the house of commons with demands for his resignation The scene of up-road up-road in the house on the night when the head of the British government hurriedly fled from the parliamentary chamber, because of the dnnands of men who once supported his administration, adminis-tration, has not been duplicated at any period in the hostiry of the house of commons. ' Premier Balfour, had he the spirit of a Gladstone, would have resigned months ago. His power has been on the wane since Chamberlain and other followers deserted his camp. He has clung to office by the wavering force of an uncertain majority; with th? tenacity which characterized his uncle, the late Marquis of Salisbury, and with ! the audacity which is a striking trait I Jn the character of the Cecil family, . of which Balfour is a branch. Mr. Balfour Bal-four has shed no benefits on Ireland. j His brother. Gerald, when chief secretary secre-tary of that country, was a tyraniztng, unsympathetic official a man who, ' ' when Irc)and was passing through a j cloud of famine such as now shrouds her in gloom, asked did the Irish people peo-ple want champagne and costly lux- ' urles. Under the iioin de plume of "Alci-phron," "Alci-phron," a writer in a magazine, of the current month, which is widely read in England and this country, says of Premier Pre-mier Balfour: "You offer today, Mr. Balfour, the great paradox of being the public man of England, most laughed at, and at the? same time most I loved. If today the political tide seems- to bs running against you, you may at least have the satisfaction of knowing ' that you yourself worked out with precision, pre-cision, ten years ago, the process of your own decay." The weather vane ; policy of Premier Balfour, and his re- nunciation of promises made to the I Irish party have hastened his down- I fall. The Irish parliamentary party is 1 not the despised "rabble" of the past. It can make itself felt in the house of commons, no matter what government is in power. Had Balfour been true to his pledges, had he entered zealously into the work which would have given Ireland relief from oppressive burden; had he stirred his adherents into granting Ireland, if not immediate home rule, many measures justly needed need-ed by the Irish people, cries of "resign" would not ring through the hous? of commons. The Irish people will not shed tears over Balfour's downfall. He placated, I in every way. the Orange faction of ' Ulster and at their whim removed from 1 office men fritndly to Ireland's parliament parlia-ment are on the qui vive.. watching ' every opportunity to plead and fight for their country's cause. John Ked- mond, and his - faithful phalanx of i steadfast Irishmen, will form no alli-! alli-! ances with any political party un-' un-' friendly to Ireland. Who will be Eng-1 Eng-1 land's next prtmier( is the question j now agitating the minds of King Edward's Ed-ward's subjectfi? He may be Roseber-ry. Roseber-ry. Mich'ran Catholic. |