POLITICAL PARTIES. 193 POLITICAL PARTIES. Xational Liberals, Avhose cliicf idea was the creation of German unity, ami who were willing to support the Chancellor, although they did not wholly approve of him. He was also supported, with more enthusiasm, by the Free Conservatives (Reichspartei) . He was opposed by the Old Con- servatives, who clung to the old particularistic regime, and by the Progressists (Fortschritts- partei). who rejected all compromises and were the radical wing of the Nationalist Party that precedc<l the formation of the Empire. The Kiilturlciinipf (q.v.) encouraged the growth of another strong opposition party. Ultramontane Catholic, known as the Centre. This had its strength in the Catholic States of South Ger- many and in the western part of Prussia, This party since 189,3 lias been the strongest single group in the Empire. It elected 100 members of the lleichstag iu 1003. Bisnmrck, before his re- tirement, in view of the falling away of his old National Liberal support, had turned to the plan of a coalition between tlie Conservatives and his old enemies of the Centre to obtain support for the Government. The Social Democrats follow the Centre in point of numbers (82), then come the Conservatives ( 53 ) , National Liberals, Radicals (Freisinnigc) , the Free Conservatives, the Anti-Semites, and a few lesser factions. The Polish elements form a strongly hostile Na- tionalist group. The predominance of Prussia in the Empire gives Prussian politics an overshad- owing influence, and tlie Agrarians, who are pri- marily a Prussian landholders' party, opposed to the present commercial policy of the Government, and desirous of e.xtreme protection against the importation of foodstuffs, control the Conserva- tive members entirely, the Centrists to a great extent, and have a strong hold among the Poles and Anti-Semites, The Government is thus forced, on some of its favorite projects, to look to the Liberal groups for its support. The Agra- rians were strong enough to defeat the Emperor's Ehine-Elbe canal project in the Prussian Landtag in 1899, arousing thereby very bitter feeling. This strong Agrarian agitation is a most im- portant complication in the already complex party situation in Germany. In the Parliamentary elections of June, 1903. the Socialists polled a vote hitherto unequaled in .strength. Gbeat Britain. The four chief political par- ties in Great Britain at the present time are the Conservatives, the Liberals, the Iri.sh Parlia- mentary or Home Rule Party, and the Li!)eral- Unionists. The Conservatives and the Liberals are the lineal descendants of the old Tories and Whigs, and although their political ideas are far more advanced than those of their predecessors, they maintain relatively the same attitude toward the questions of the day. The professed policy of the Conservatives is tfte maintenance of the Empire, the preserva- tion of the Constitution in its present form, the union of Church and State, and the general conservation of vested interests. The Liberal Party comprises the great majority of the Dis- senters in England, and of all the voters in Scotland and Wales, but it is nearly always in the minority in England itself. Its policy is one of abstention from foreign complications, economy in expenditure, and reform in the Con- stitution. The Radicals, who form a wing of the party, desire disestablishment of the State Clnirch. manhood suffrage, free education, and the abolition of the House of Lords. The Liberal Party was divided on the question of the South African War in 1899-1902. The whole party opposed it in the beginning, and agreed in criticising the conduct of the war by the Govern- ment. But while the majority favored granting a liberal measure of home riile to the Boers, a Radical minoritv advocated the independence of the republics. The Home Rule or Irish Parlia-' mentary Party was founded mainly through the efforts of Charles Stewart Parnell "(q.v.) , and is composed entirely of Irish members. It subor- dinates all other issues to that of Home Rule (q.v.) for Ireland, although it advocates imme- diate reform of the Irish land system and of Irish taxation, and is in favor of "the establish- ment of an Irish Catholic university. It has acted with the Liberals since 1880, and violently opposed the Boer War, The Liberal-Unionists separated from the Liberals in 1886 on account of Gladstone's advocacy of home rule. Since that time they have acted with the Conservatives, their leader, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, becoming the most pronounced advocate of an aggressive foreign policy and of the unconditional subjuga- tion of the South African republics. In the general elections for Parliament held in October, 1900, 334 Conservatives, 186 Liberals, 82 Home-Rulers, and 68 Liberal-Unionists were returned. For the development of English political parties, consult: Cook, History of Party from Charles II. to the Reform Bill "(London, 1830-37) ; Kebbel, History of Toryism., ITSS-ISSl (London. 1886): Kent, English Radicals (New York, 1899), Greece. There has never been in Greece a division of the voting population into great parties on great political issues, but in modern Greece, as in ancient Greece, the grouping has been rather that of factional followers of some strong political leader. In the frequent change of its ministries Greece bears a striking resem- blance to France and Italy, and, as in those countries, the change has very seldom meant a revolution in policy. For the greater part of the decade 1880-90 the so-called parties grouped themselves around two leaders. Tricoupis and Delyannis from whom were derived the names Tricoupists and Delyannists. In the general elec- tion of 1890 part of the Deh-annists — then the opposition party — broke away from their former political associates, and under the leadership of 51. Ralli formed a new party organization known as the Neo-Hellenic or Young (ireek Party. M. Trieoupi died in 1896, and the leadership of his faction fell to M. Theotokis. His followers, called both Tricoupists and Theotokists, repre- sent the more conservative tendency in Greek politics. In 1901 a new political group formed about M. Zaimis. who became Premier in that year. The parliamentary strength of the three factions in 1902 was given as: Delyannists, 82; Theotokists, 75 ; and Zaimists, 46. Hungary. Hungary presents the interesting example of a country with a parliamentary form of government in which a single political iwrty has retained uninterrupted control for upward of thirty-five years. This party is the Liberal Party — the party of Francis DeSk and Koloman Tisza, whose able leadership has been a strong factor in its continued success. During the rule of the party of Deflk, which began with the sue-
