The Great Struggle

The English and Irish sitnation is full of the greatest interest to all close observers of passing events. It is something more than the strnggle of one people to be free to govern themselves ; it has a wider and deeper significance' than that. It is a struggle, perhaps the last and greatest, between the principie of aristocracy and that öf, democracy. The privileged classes are seeing their power slip away, and they are making one desperate effort to retain it. The principie of democracy, placed by Jefferson in our Declaration of Independence, is forever right and it must prevail, or our civilization will perish. How soou it will triumph cannot be told. England is so used to allcwing monopoly tbat it may be nothing but a rebellion will change the system. But the people's cause may win afler a long parliamentary strife, in which the Tories will not hesitate to commit legal murder (as they already have done) and attempt the moetwholesale assassinations of character, as they are now doing. There is a great change taking place in the attitude of the Englieh people towards the privileged classes. The press and writers are boldly challenging the right of individuals to monopolize the land. One of the boldest is a recent pamphlet by a London gentleman on "The Great Landlords of London." The Viscount Portman, for example, owns 300 acres of London. Last March, all the leaf es on this valuable city land expired. Of course the houses with which the 300 acres are covered practicallv became the property of the Viscount. "Neither he nor his father have ever done a stroke of work toward building those houses, nor toward increasing the value of the land on which they stand. They have paid nothing for opening Btreets, nothing for paving, nor for lighting, nor for laying gas or water mains, nor for poor rates, nor for pólice expenses. They have simply allo wed themselves to be supported in luxuriant idleness. And now they own the houses, every brick and tile of them." The author of this pamphlet assures us that when the leases expired last March on the 300 acres owned by Viscount Portman, this favored mortal raised his rent roll 800 per cent. and exacted as premiums a million and a half pounds sterling before he would renew the leases at all. The enormous power which the Viscount wields over the people who happened to be bom with less legal rights than he can plainly be seen. He not only can make them hand over most of their wealth to him, if they wish to remain wherethey were bom or where they have lived so many years, but in cases where the building is used as a store or tavern the tenant is compelled to produce his books and make a full disclosure of his business, "in order that the agent may properly estímate the value of the good will." The geoi will of the business actually belongs to Viscount Portman. Itis a mind with a very poor grasp of cause and effect that can study this system as described by the pamphlet and fail to understand why people starve to death in London. And sp lone as that system remaine, all the work of all the Mrs. Ormiston Chants in the world cannot stem the tide of poverty and crime in London. Trade is disarranged, honest people are robbed of their accumul&tions, wealth is squandered, opportunities for labor are locked up. And why should Viscount Portman be entitled to do this? Why should he not earn his own living? The6e questions are now boldly asked. He is only one among the privileged class. Thev will not give up their cruel grasp without a desperate stniggle, perhaps as terrible as that which overthrew chattel slavery in this country. Established religión and the church and the throne will be arrayed on their side; but they will be overeóme. Already one powerful London daily paper having an enormous circulation is boldly attacking the idea that the few have the right to monopolize the earth and exact tribute from the many. Some of the leading democrats of England and Ireland are beginning to see what is needed and are leading the way. Michael Davitt has long seen it, and he has repeatedly said that there can be no last ing solution of the Irish question until the landlord is abolished. Dr. Hcgo Lupinski, formerly of Ann Arbor, has been removed as health officer of Grand Rapids. It is another illustration of the abominable "spoils" system of appointment to office. Certain persons having gained the power, thought they had a perfect right to oust the health officer,- a sort of right by conquest. There is no evidence that there was any public demand for the health officer's removal, nor that he is incompetent to discharge the duties of health officer. It is a moral crime, this looking upon such positions as belonging to a party or faction of a party and not to the whole people. Of all positions, those which protect the health and lives of the people ought to be considered too important to be gambled for in the game of politics. It must be exeeedingly discouraging to the State board of health which js endeavoring, in every vray possible, to raise the standard of the health officer's work in Michigan. The new health officer, we have no reason to doubt, might become efficiënt and exceedingly useful in the position, but his tenure of office is uncertain. As he is liable to be turned out when politics change in Grand Rapids, no matter how well he may do, there is no great inducement to effort. „______