The North Wales Express

TO CORRESPONDENTS. LLEWELYN.—Your letter is too personal. ELECTOR.—You can procure the map through any bookseller, or from Messrs Phillips and Son, Liverpool. The following books are to hand. and will be duly noticed The Ode of Life' (by the author of the Epic of Hades'); Through the Light Continent' (by Mr William Saunders); 'The year book of facts' (Waid Lock and Tyler); 'Popular Sovereignty' (by Charles Anthony); The Social and Political Dependence of Women' &c., &c.

INSIDIOUS COUNSELS. The revenge of the Liberal party for the defeat of 1874 is so complete that the advise to listen to the counsels of moderation will not be thrown away when seriously offered and by staunch friends. Prussia had her Jeva in 1806, and had to wait sixty-four years for her revenge, which, if slow in coming, was at least complete. The Libe- rals have not had so long to wait; but they are already in some danger, not so much decisiveness of their success as from the dangerous counsels of those who have joined the party after the battle is won, and when the only question is as to the division of the spoils of victory. Sitting on a rail, as the Americans call the tide-waiters who are always with the winning side, is a simple operation. It is not, however, with- out its danger to those who accept the sinister advise of such worshippers of the rising sun. Those air my sentiments, gentlemen," said the American candidate, but, if you do not like them, they can be changed." Such pliability cannot be treated with the contempt it deserves. Congratu- lations must be received with civility, and once they are accepted the opportunity offers for thrusting in insidious advice, the intention of which is merely to make mischief and saw division. The Times for instances whose conversion to Liberalism is so opportune, surpassed itself by its re- marks on Monday last. It hinted that the Queen would send for Lord Hartington, in- sinuating, of course, that this would be Lord Beaconsfield's parting advise to Her Majesty, with the recommendation, however, that Lord Hartington should not transfer his authority to form a Ministry to any one else. The intention of this was a piece of gra- tuitous mischief, the inuendo being that in no case would Her Majesty consent to Mr Glad- stone resuming office as her chief adviser. The article concluded with a dropping fire of compliments to Mr Gladstone's great abili- ties in some subordinate post, or as the Lydhurst or Lansdowne of the Cabinet without office. But the inference which the writer wished us to draw from the whole article was, that Mr Gladstone had made himself so unacceptable to the Court circle, the Clubs, the City, and those classes, in a word, whose opinion the Times affects to reflect, that it would be highly inexpedient to appoint him to the post, which the voice of the country has marked out for him. This is the danger which we must be on our guard against. The Liberal party is swamped with officious advisers, who have no other way of showing their vexation at the turn which events have taken than by paying insidious compliments to Mr Glad- stone, every syllable of which is a covert stab. The insinuation is that he has every talent but one, which is the art of using his talent with moderation. In fact, it is the Radical streak which they detect in this reclaimed Tory which is his unpardonable e sin. Had he been a born Liberal and moved with the times; moved, that is, on the same plane as Mr Goschen, Mr Lowe, and Mr Forster, all would be forgiven. But the touch of Democratic Socialism, the single whiff as of garlic waived over the social salad, is too much for them. Onion atoms may lurk within the bowl and, scarce suspected, animate the whole;" but garlic is a lower stratum still, and that these society journals cannot do away with. We fear that as the onion atoms were admitted at last by Lord Palmerston, so the garlic of a Dilke and a Chamberlain will have to be put up with, and if this is the lesson of the elections, the sooner it is learned by certain so-called Liberal journals the better.

THE ROYAL SUMMONS- The first step in the formation of the Liberal Cabinet has been taken. Lord Hartington has been summoned by the Queen to Windsor. This will set at rest the doubts as to whom her Majesty would first of all consult. It was the general opinion that Lord Granville would have been sent for. Lord Hartington arrived at Windsor soon after two o'clock to-day (Thursday). It is we believe customary on an occasion of this kind, for a Royal equipage to be in waiting at the station for the distinguished visitor. We know that such was the case on the recent occasion of Lord Beaconsfield's visit to Windsor; and later the entire Cabinet were conveyed in state carriages sent from the Castle. A week since Prince Leopold called upon Lord Beaconsfield at his official resi- dence in Downing-street, and that visit is now explained to mean that the Prince had been requested by his Royal mother to con- vey to the Premier the pleasure it would afford her to see him at Windsor on her return from her ancestors' fatherland- Germany. When all the fuss and attention paid to the outgoing Government is com- pared with the reception accorded to the Marquis of Hartington on his visit to the Queen to-day, the rumour that Royalty has a decided predilection for Toryism in general, and Beaconsfieldism in particular, is in- vested with much significance. Those who did not interpret the absence of Mr Glad- stone from the wedding of the Duke of Connaught as an indication of royal dis- favour, may be inclined to entertain a more emphatic opinion of regarding the slight- for it is undoubtedly an unwarrantable slight-to which Lord Hartington has been subjected by her Majesty. Lord Harting- ton went to Windsor in obedience to a summons from the Queen, just as Lord Beaconsfield had done. Lord Beaconsfield was conveyed to the castle in a state carriage Lord Hartington found himself outside Windser station without even an ordinary four-wheeler having been sent by Her Majesty to convey him to her august pre- sence. No doubt the Marquis of Harting- ton would be the last man to complain of a trivial act of inhospitality of this kind, but its significance from a public point of view is manifested in the fact that the circum- stance has already been telegraphed to all parts of the empire. The Royal Family, in the past, has been credited with a desire to avoid even a sem- blance of political bias and we believe until recently succeeded in maintaining a thoroughly non-political attitude, at least to all outward appearance. It would have been better for all concerned had this pru- dent conduct been persisted in; and we viewed with hearty regret a slight indica- tion to deviate from such wholesome cus- tom. Her Majesty must be aware that the Marquis of Hartington is at this moment the representative of a political party of en- ormous preponderance in the country and any want of courtesy evinced towards his Lordship, on an occasion of supreme im- portance, will certainly be accepted as a gratuitous slight-from a quarter where it should have been the least expected-by the great Liberal party of this kingdom. It is a sinister sign of monarchial degeneracy when royalty descends from its illustrious pedestal to smile upon one political party and frown on the other. There is no doubt that the Liberal victory will be taken much to heart at the Court and it is well that it should be so—well for the Court especially. There is no reigning family in Europe so secure as ours if they will only be content with great dignity, large emoluments, and a very substantial share of real power. The Constitutional Monarchy is the form of government which recommends itself to the vast majority of the English people, and all they ask of it in return for the most devoted loyalty is that it shall continue to be constitutional. But under Lord Beaconsfield's regime,it has been tending in quite another direction, and even his mechanical majority must have had secret misgivings as to the ultimate effect of the obvious attempts to substitute personal for constitutional rule. No English monarch for the last 200 years has ever had a more dangerous adviser than Lord Beaconsfield, and it is astonishing that the Queen, with her high sagacity, should not have realised this-though we are not too certain that she did not. Now, however, that the nation has spoken in unmistakeable terms, the Court must bring itself to recognise that England will never consent to be ruled by the dead hand of Baron Stockmar, and the lesson will be a valuable one when it is learned.

The Tories are beginning to whisper ominously about their great leader." They are contending that he ought to have insisted on a dissolution when he came back from Berlin, and that an election then would have renewed his majority for another six years. No Liberal will for a moment believe that it would have been so, but it is possible that we should not have scored so great a success as we have done. But the Tory party are sore chiefly on the subject of the famous manifesto which Viceroy Beaconsfield wrote to Viceroy Marl- borough. None know better than they that that remarkable effusion not only missed its mark, but has done them a posi- tive injury. The people were in a common- sense mood, and were not to be frightened by the bogies which the Premier conjured up. They felt that the Empire was not in such a bad way that its salvation depended upon Benjamin Disraeli, nor have they failed to detect the meaning of the semi- barbarous jargon in which he couched his appeal, though that meaning is very differ- ent from the one he desired them to extract. The cunning engineer has been hoist with his own petard, and we may leave his friends to pick up the fragments of his reputation, and try to put them together again. 4

♦— c. final acts of Lord Beacons- field s regime has been the appointment of bishop to the newly-established see of Liver- pool, which honour he has conferred upon Dean Ryle. But it is questionable whether f the appointment is likely to prove very satis- factory. The rev. gentleman is said to possess narrow views and is likely to pan- i der more to the Orange ianaticsm, wlch ii, tne curse of Liverpool, than to attempt tof reconcile the bitter enmity which rages there! between Protestants and Catholics. The{ bishop-designate is also considered to be toO old tor the arduous duties which will devolve! upon the formation of a new see. Lord I •Beaconsfieid makes his appointments not-' able; for it is a most exceptional case to, nominate a man to a deanery in Februar11 bench elevate to tile episcopal] ♦ r

The election of proctors for the diocese*! ot bt. Asaph and Bangor came off last week, -in the former place considerable interest' being manifested in the event, whilst in Bangor the selection can not be said to havo engrafted such attraction. The clergy of, St. Asaph were divided, and several candi- dates representing the moderate and theritua' listic sections were put forward. The result of the poll was that the Rev Canon Richard- son and the Rev Canon Williams wer* elected, the Rev Canon Howell Evans tb«l Rev D. R. Thom»s, and the Rev StepheflL Gladstone, being the unsuccessful candiates, In the diocese of Bangor, the Rev P. Co]!" I stable Ellis and the Rev D. W. Thoms" were appointed.

It is understood at Portsmouth that the Prince of Wales contemplates paying a visit to Australia m the course of the autumn, and that the troopship Serapis in which he went to Indi* will be employed for the service t ?^n.'™ati?n Afghanistan states that Weattackei oud capture* Ghuznee, and that Mu3ft Jan has been tJrp™ to Wardak by Mahomed Jan's biother. It wL eV i ?^Tuesday Stewart Would reach Ghuzne* A table has just been issued of the num- +ifr ° births, and deaths in England & MaSes isn V^rfV1)6 Rowing totals 449,289; ditto- fema es) 7 « deffhfsJmales). ^2,478; ditt* ^emaies;, ^55,716. At this rate, the nonnUHotf must be increasing considerably. Upon the enquiry into the Tay Bridg* disaster being resumed on Tuesday, furthered- dence was called relating to the cmalifcv nf materials used in the building of the structure T ftw fl k,6 P«ncipal witnesses being Mr Hentf aw, a member of the Institute of Civil Engineer** V? >?hCte? hIthe Wreck Commi,fioner9' Court to visit the bridge after the accident, a»<* Sn S°L results of a thorough examin** } tion which he had made. 1

NOTES OF THE WEEK. A writer in the Standard of the 17th endeavours to minimise the significance of the Liberal re-action by pointing out that half the Liberal majority in the New Parliament is the result of what may be termed Accidefit ;that 58 out of the 414 Liberal members won their seats with majorities of less than a hundred votes. The writer referred to has apparently lost sight of the fact that there is a greater pro- i portion among the 213 Conservatives re- ] turned of members who owe thoir seats to ] similar narrow majorities, as will be seen from the following list of Conservative maiorities;— Newark 3 Haddingtonshire 44 Poole. 6 Wigtonshire 46 Bridport 9 North Wilts 50 Dumbartonshire. 9 Westbury 54 Nottinghamshire 10 North Ayrshire 56 Bandon 15 Harwick 58 Lichfield 16 Devizes 58 East Cumberland 18 Woodstock 60 Downpatrick 20 Eye 62 Emris Kellen 20 Thirsk 63 Ipswich 221 Wigan 66 Chippenham 23 South Salop. 76 Inverness. 29 Londonderry 88 Coleraine 29 Northallerton 90 Newry 30,Warwick 92 Wigan 33 Dover 94 Winchester 35 Launceston 95 Carrigferqus 37| Portarlington 98 Sheffield 4Ú1 Rochester 99 Plymouth 401 — Helston 40) Total 1855 Dorchester 421 So that the total combined majorities of forty-one Conservative members are con- siderably under two thousand. Viewed generally, the majorities of the Liberals were considerably greater than those of the Conservatives. The largest majorities ob- tained by the latter were in London and Middlesex; but the Liberals showed greater even majorities in several districts, of which may be named Manchester, Salford, West Riding, Marylebone, Hackney, Finsbury, Bradford, and Leeds. Excepting the Con- servative majorities in Middlesex and London, the whole of the others would be almost covered by the single majority ob- tained by Mr Gladstone in Leeds, 11291 1 above the highest Conservative vote. Another noteworthy fact is that the total number of votes recorded for the 410 Liberals will make an average for each of 5149 votes; whilst the total votes given to the 235 Conservatives will only average 3139 for each.

From a table which we publish in another column it will be seen that the total number of votes recorded for Liberal candidates at the recent elections in Wales was 51,247; and for Conservatives 32,149, or an aggre- gate majority for Liberals of 19,098. The total number of votes recorded in 19 contes- ted elections were 83,396. The total num- ber of voters for the 30 constituencies are 133,741-67,441 in boroughs and 66,272 in the counties. As stated in our last the re- presentation of Wales consists of 28 Liberals and two Conservatives. 0

The amateur cabinet makers had with grave wisdom fixed the choice between Lords Granville and Hartington, and during the last few days probability seemed to point more to the latter. But it does not follow that Lord Hartington will be Prime Minister; his lordship may himself recom- mend the Queen to call Mr Gladstone, and knowing the popular cry is for the vene- rable statesman, it is most probable such will be the course adopted. But it would have been more desirable had Her Majesty recognised the true position of affairs and acted in accordance with the popular will by calling Mr Gladstone. He has been the creator of the situation, and he alone is the statesman whom the country demands shall lead. It would have been more graceful to have done in the first instance what even- tually will have to be done to satisfy the anticipations of the British public.

Notice was given at the Llanberis Quarry on Monday that owing to the continued depression in trade there would be an average reduction of nearly five per cent. in the wages. The men will, however, be required to work full time. Of course, no one credited the silly rumours spread about last week that there would be a reduction of 25 per cent., in consequence of the result of the election. 4

In our issue of last week we published a short letter from a correspondent drawing attention to the proposed visit of the Prince of Wales to Holyhead, on June I st, and suggesting that the occasion would be an appropriate one to invite His Royal Highness to the National Eisteddfod at Carnarvon in August next. The suggestion has since been copied into some of the leading provincial journals, and the London Bai.il/Jfeivs of Wednesday reverted to the facts. It is evident from the publicity given to the sentiments originally expres- sed in our columns that the idea of inducing the Prince of Wales to pay a visit to the annual festival of the people of his Principality find favor in quarters where influences other than blood and nationality are paramount. We earnestly hope the Eisteddfod Committee will pursue the matter to a successful close. The Prince of Wales is a genial and kind man and were it represented to His Royal Highness that the Welsh people are anxious to pay him homage at their national festival, we do not believe he would turn a deafear to their wishes. —

It has been said in the daily papers that at the Liberal head-quarters in Carnarvon- shire instructions had been given to prepare for a contest in view of the anticipated ap- pointment of Mr Watkin Williams as one of the law officers under the crown. It is also said that in case of his appointment it is not thought likely that the Conservatives, seeing how large was the Liberal majority at the late election, will offer any opposi- ^n- however probable it is that Mr Watkin Williams may be offered an im- portant office, this announcement is pre- mature, and we have reason to believe there is as yet no foundation for this rumour so far as Mr Watkin Williams is concerned. ♦-

We have at last got so clear of the jungle in which we have been wandering for the last six years that the party may fairly shout until the welkin rings again. A month ago it seemed that those great re- forms to which the Liberals are pledged were as far off as ever. The idea that the Ministerial majority would be reversed was entertained by few, but the notion that the Government would sustain so crushing a defeat cannot have entered into the mind of anyone who was certain of his own sanity. And now, in a few brief weeks, the whole prospect has changed. Lord Beacons- field has appealed to the country, of whose support he has constantly boasted, and the country has given him the most decisive notice to quit that ever Minister received. He chose his own time; he prepared the ground, not skilfully in- deed, but according to his own liking- he induced the Queen to make an electioneer- ing speech in his behalf; and although such preposterous blunders as that of the London Water Bill told against him, there was only too much reason to doubt whpthor the spirited foreign policy" woSd nSfc carry the day. Now, with the result of the elections before us it is impossible to re- press a feeling of shame and bitter indig- nation at the thought of all the crimes and follies which have been perpetrated in the j name of the country, and which the country now repudiates in the most energetic manner. In the name of England Lord Bsaconsfield, has sent thousands of British soldiers, and tens of thousands of Zulus and Af- ghans, to their long account; in the name of England he has done I what he could to prevent the emancipation of the subject provinces of Turkey in the name of England he has used threats and made displays of force in order to uphold, the gang of thieves, murderers, and swindlers which is called the Turkish Government; and in the name of England he has gone about hectoring and bullying striking theatrical attitudes, and uttering I theatrical menaces. If this reckless gambler had any sense of honour we might expect him to be disturbed at the discovery that he never had the support of the nation if# indeed, it is to him a discovery; but the, only pang which that seared conscience is likely to feel is the pang of rage and difl- appointment at losing the game at last.