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without apparently knowing it, and (2) by the action of Lord Rosebery, who, since he left his lonely furrow, has been backing out of Home Rule without, let us hope, apparently knowing it either. The advance of the Government has given heart to the Nationalists, and the retreat of Lord Rosebery has, for very shame, revived the Gladstone tradition, and recalled the best memories of Liberalism.

The Irish members have one advantage over English parties. They know their own minds. They know what they want. The present Government is in a state of bewilderment in Ireland. His Majesty's Opposition is in a state of bewilderment everywhere. Ireland has faith neither in Government nor in Opposition. She is

watching the
the political

situation in

England with keenness, and she will not fail, when the opportunity offers, to turn it to good account.

The Government have slipped their old moorings in Ireland. They have abandoned their old friends, and their old principles, and they have found no new ones. They have given up the garrison; but they have not won the Nationalists. They have created universal distrust. The landlords do not believe in them. The tenants do not believe in them. The Catholics do not believe in them. The Protestants do not believe in them. They are estranging the English interest without conciliating the Irish. Nevertheless, they are floundering into Home Rule without knowing it; and before long they will find themselves brought face to face with the issue-a Crown colony or an

Irish Parliament. The grotesque farce of giving Ireland "Constitutional " government, and insisting on ruling the country in defiance of the declared wishes of three-fourths of the Parliamentary representatives of the people, must be brought to an end one way or the other. Apart from anything else, the Local Government Act, which has destroyed the power of the landlord oligarchy, and thrown the administration of counties and boroughs into the hands of the democracy, makes this inevitable.

His Majesty's Opposition is still rent by schism. It is the home of faction. Lord Rosebery is the genius of disorder and anarchy. He is a statesman of phrases; and his phrases will be the death of the Liberal party, if they are

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by definite separation," and the last

state of Lord Rosebery is worse than the first.

I am

A speech made by Lord Rosebery in Glasgow in 1887 lies before me. tempted to take some extracts from it. First he says:

"I am not one of those who underrate, as you know, questions of foreign or colonial or domestic policy, but there is only one question before the country now, and till that is settled there will be no other question disposed of. (Loud cheers.) No red herring, across whatever path it may be drawn, can distract the scent. No human being, I venture to say, can postpone the question. I saw it stated the other day that Mr. Gladstone

-(cheers)-if he would only postpone the Irish question for this Parliament, might reunite the Liberal party. I have seen that sentiment expressed more than once. Now, I am one of those few remaining people in Scotland (laughter) -who cling to that effete prejudice which is soon to die out, which is called Gladstonian Liberalism. (Cheers.) Moreover, I am one of those who have an almost unlimited belief in Mr. Gladstone's capacity. (Cheers.) But Mr. Gladstone is human; and even if he were more superhuman than he appears to be, it is not in Mr. Gladstone's power to postpone the Irish question."

I take another extract:

"I am told that it is reported in Scotland that Burns, if he had lived(laughter)—would have been a Liberal

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