moval of the Malt Tax had been aty practical bring off the load upon the farmers. He said that the burdens up and nat of late years been increasing to a serious erent: and under the altered conditions of farming the land excid a longer tear them. The attention of Parliament should, be thouunt be gra to the whole question of local taxation; and it would be found that the Conservatives would not only support a good scheme of ready ste ment, but any proposal to give tenants sety for impermea Having twitted the Liberal Government zeraet er maa and its yet unborn economy, he touched upon the

obstruction, and expressed his belief that the Gozem annas vals be able to prevent the House of Commons being pa nu ming strings and fetters.

The Prime Minister was not slow in taking up the ballenge thus thrown out by his chief rival. In the course of the week be a pe peared at Leeds, making long speeches at the Town Hall in aver to eighty-eight addresses presented to him at the babyset in the old Clothyard, at the Chamber of Commerce, and at the Liber Club. In his reply to the Corporation address. Mr. Glaserne alluded to the "slender thread as yet unbroken wilt bend iz to political life, indicating as his natural successon Lori Gralle and Lord Hartington. He repudiated strongly the muggenion that the Irish Land Act was in any way applicable to England or bet land, though in both countries there was need of careful attention to the claims of tenant-farmers to consideration. Tuning Lext to the question of Fair Trade, he denounced it unsparingly as Protection in disguise. He ridiculed the idea of retaliatory tarifa, If the exports of the country were to be increased, it must be by competing with foreign trade on the most advantageous terms to British manufacturers, and this condition could only be maintained so long as the price of raw material was kept low through the operation of unimpeded Free Trade.

In the evening Mr. Gladstone addressed himself more particularly to the Irish question and the Irish Land Act, which was about to become a living reality. He hoped much from the future when contrasting the present with the past. In forty years the material position of the Irish peasantry had improved in a most remarkable manner, in spite of the drawbacks and disabilities under which they had lived; and much of this he attributed to the effects of the teaching of O'Connell, who had always availed himself for the promotion of any cause, small or great, of every measure which tended to the happiness of the Irish people, however much it might fall short of his (O'Connell's) wishes. Mr. Parnell, the present leader of the National party, followed a different programme, inculcating discontent and covetous desires for other men's property, and substituting for O'Connell's aim of friendship with England, the new policy of hatred of England and everything English. Mr. Parnell, moreover, attempted to win the hearts of his fellow-countrymen by proclaiming a new gospel

of plunder, and by assigning to landowners a bare rental of three millions sterling, the 'precise' value of their land, in full compensation of the seventeen millions which the land produced. Another principle of O'Connell's agitation was that no political change should be prosecuted by the shedding of one drop of human blood. In the present struggle Mr. Parnell had never repudiated the assassination literature published in America. And now, after doing everything he could to destroy the Land Bill, he was urging the people of Ireland to test the Act, not to use it. "It is," said Mr. Gladstone, "no small matter, if he desires, gentlemen, to arrest the operation of the Act-to stand, as Moses stood, between the living and the dead, but to stand there, not as Moses stood, to arrest, but to spread the plague."

In concluding he referred to the sluggishness of loyal Irishmen, especially amongst the wealthier classes, who seemed incapable, if not unwilling, to do anything to help themselves; contrasting their attitude with the readiness with which elsewhere loyal citizens would have rallied in support of the laws. With regard to the future in Ireland, Mr. Gladstone said: "In the great impending crisis we depend on the good sense of the people, and we are determined that no force, and no fear of force, and no fear of ruin through force, shall, so far as we are concerned and as it is in our power to decide the question, prevent the Irish people from having the full and free benefit of the Land Act. And if, when we have a short further experience, it should then appear that there is still to be fought the final conflict in Ireland between law on the one side and sheer lawlessness upon the other; if the law, purged from defect and from any taint of injustice, is still to be refused, and the first condition of political society to remain unfulfilled, then I say, gentlemen, without hesitation, that the resources of civilisation are not yet exhausted."

In addressing the members of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Gladstone gave an analysis of the effect of Free Trade upon Great Britain as compared with the outcome of the Protection in vogue in Europe, America, and Australia; maintaining that as long as the United States adhered to their protective system, and fettered their own strong hand, the commercial primacy of Great Britain would be undisputed. At the evening meeting, addressing an enormous audience, he confined his remarks almost exclusively to the foreign policy of the Government, defending its efforts to restore peace to Afghanistan, which the previous Government had reduced to misery and anarchy, whilst loudly proclaiming their desire to make it powerful and independent. In Egypt the previous Government had invented the system of joint control, which had in certain respects been beneficial to the people of Egypt. It was, therefore, the object of the present Government to maintain the friendly relations with France in order to render their joint action most effective, and at the same time to abstain from further interference, unless unforeseen necessity should arise, because they

election was impending. When these three events come together a prudent astrologer would warn you that anybody who had got any interest in Ireland should look out for evil days. Mr. Gladstone persuaded the people of England to adopt his new policy. The new policy consisted simply in this, of procuring the tranquillity of Ireland by offering to the occupants a portion of the property which had hitherto belonged to the owners. Ten years later, after it had been sufficiently tried and well at work, there came a period of distress-there came again that malefic conjunction. Mr. Gladstone was again out of office. A general election was again impending, and there was again discontent in Ireland. But it is needless to say that again ideas were thrown out and new gifts of their landlords' property were to be made to the Irish tenantry. Mr. Gladstone has complained that Mr. Parnell deserted him. I think, on the whole, he is unjust to Mr. Parnell. The small body of men who preached the doctrine of plunder in Ireland had learnt that doctrine from a still smaller body of men in England. The Disturbance Bill introduced by the Liberals on their return to power contained the provision that if a landowner proceeded to recover, through legal process, that which was admitted to be his just debt, he should be fined up to an amount not exceeding one-third of the fee-simple value of his property, and that for having proceeded for a debt justly due to him;' now, if that was not a measure of public plunder, I do not know what definition to attach to those words."

Lord Salisbury said little about the Land Bill, which was still upon its trial; but he pointed out that the difference between Mr. Parnell's policy and Mr. Gladstone's was only one of degree, the principle of the No Rent and Fair Rent doctrines being identical. As for the charge of supineness brought against Irish landlords, it should be remembered that Mr. Gladstone had stripped them of their influence, and brought them down to the level of mortgagees or debenture-holders; and that if the majority of persons following peaceful pursuits had not more vigorously supported the Government, it was because few people care to make themselves martyrs for a Government which will not fight. Law was allowed to fall into disrepute, animals hamstrung, houses burnt, and men 'corded' or murdered without interference, because it was necessary to keep the Government party together. At last the Coercion Bill was brought in, and after great efforts passed, but the only use made of it had been to lock up 150 second-class personages whose presence or absence could not have been material to the peace of the country. This absolute failure to maintain public order was a dishonour to the Government at home and paralysed their influence abroad. They could no longer lecture the Sultan on the state of Armenia or Macedonia, whilst in Ireland people were allowed to plunder one another without restraint. Referring to the news which had just arrived of the opposition to the Transvaal Convention shown in the Volksraad, Lord Salisbury went on to say that the Government had

for inquiry to the nie; mizi mulk sina buat Nier from local or sher Purlets FLI BINE le nommers ANTIDA measures should be an keringt. ER VOL P.C 9.TIN TIM

argument of M. Gats de mat der kat taken of the males would go to aid the anturis ader uma de armers, but be omitted to explain by the langer men de s'anni, kod the tenants receive the full benefit of my moet verissons

On the following by Lari Malory and Si Safar. Naraoxe addressed an enormous gribering of persue at Newcaster, Dut limited themselves principally to emitism off the for go and economic policy of the Government in regard to freece, Mate tenegro, and Afghanistan: and expressed the hope that they would not suffer any alliance to induce them to allow our fluence to be made secondary in Egypt. On the question of Free Trade he said he did not desire to return to the state of things that existed before 1846, but he protested against the Government ignoring the commercial difficulties under which we labour by the simple device of accusing their opponents of a desire to return to the state of things existing before 1846. "Whenever the end of the present state of things is pointed out to them, they, instead of replying to them, call us lunatics, or they beat the great tomtom' of Free Trade in order to drown our voices." He did not imagine any person would attempt to contradict that in one respect the apostles of Fico Trade thirty-five years ago made gigantic miscalculations. They persuaded the people of this country to adopt their system to a very great extent, on the ground that if they did so the rest of the nations would follow their example. That had not been the case. A third of a century had passed by, and all the nations by which