The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-27 00:00:00

DRURY LANE

Tom Mania, THE iTIFIIteHANT OP' VENICE. Mr. Phelps,
Mews. E. Maim, Harrell, Head, and Hanby; Mesdames H.
Veda, G.dier. a Iludapetli.—And NUMBER NIP: OR, HADA&
QUIN AND THE GNOME KING Or THE GIANT MOUNTALY.

HAY3,AIIIiT.

TM, Evrrngo, A LESSON 101r1IFE. Messrs. Sothern,
lagers. Clark, Compton, Be. ; Met Chippendale, Misses Hill,
Wroght, •,c.—UIBD DUNDBEARY MARRIED AND DONE
FOIL Mr. Sotheru.—Aod JENNY LIND AT LAST. Miss Burke.

rILINCINWS.

Tar Inman, BIS LAST~
Lt~US. Verner & Penton;
Mns. B. White and Miss Wentworth.—And SHADOW 'FUER
SHAFT. Messrs Ming, Shore, Verner, V. Villiers, Forrester,
Mellon, and I.:Athcart. tileaes Montagu, Edmonds, and &odder&

L I MUM,

Tins EVITITNO, TIER Tiftsraii. Mr. Wlddloomb.—And
ROUGE ET NOIR. Mews. Pechter, Emery, .lonlan. Moreland,
Yitapatrick. D.Aton. Reynolds, leans, Andrews, Price, &e. ;
Mrs. L. Murray, and Mimes Remade, Grattan, and C. Leclerrq.

enu~u-

Tuts ETiunto, mAitateiiDmilifrus AND YOUNG =M-
BA NM. of OUT YAWL/ .—AM • 6171 T OF
TWILlar•

HOLBORN.

Tins Rimini°, MY TURN NRXT. Mr. Berme: MMus
Poota sod b9ol3ol.—And FLYING SCUD. Mews. Neville.
Bloke, Voßake, &e. Mesdames R. Josephs, C. &mama
Rai. loots, Mira lannox, Raymond. &a.

IrpTAIMA.

Twits Evurnts, THE LAST LINK OF LOVE.—To conclude
with THE ERINCYIIB OF THE ?EMIL ISLAND: JE, THE
THREE KINGDOMS OF PEA GOLD GOLD, AND SILVI/L Mrs
Low dc Jambs—Gems of tdy MA-rate Pentomlmista.

NIGH NATIO. AT LONDON BEIDOL
Iltm DAY —Morning. Th. 13s Attereoon, Att. Sas.
To-lloasow—lloruing, bh. rim Aftentoaa. Oa. 16..

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27.

Tux experience of the last three weeks brings
us back to the slighted truism that Reform is pro-
perly the work of Reformers. Clever people have
undertaken to persuade the public otherwise, to
convince it that Reformers are the great hindrance
to Reform, which can only flourish in the hands
of those who have always been its inveterate
opponents. The event does not justify their re-
condite wisdom. We saw last year what the Con-
servative party could do in opposition : we have
seen this year what it can do in office. It can
by a tremendous effort sit still for one whole hour
while its leader betrays its internal confusion ;
it can eat its own words ; it can throw itself on
the forbearance of its adversaries ; it can waste the
first precious weeks of &session—but it cannot reform
Parliament. Not only can it not produce and pass a
decent Reform Bill ; but it cannot control the
deliberations of Parliament on the subject. Those
who told us it could do all thew things, and do
them better than the Liberals, now loudly blame
Mr. DIRRAELT ; and it is very convenient to assume
that if Conservative action is aimless, unsteady,
and unfruitful—in a word, if the " stupid party "
does stupid things—the fault must be that of the
able and experienced man who has to stand for-
ward as its representative and answer for the
errors and follies which spring naturally from its
character. If Mr. Disaszu were ten times more
skilful than he is he could only work with the
materials ready to his hand, and probably when
the interior history of Lord DilißleB party comes
to be written we shall be more astonished that he
was able to make it figure so respectably than
inclined to blame his shortcomings and mis-
takes.

The speech of the CHANCELLOR of the Ex-
CHEQUER, on Monday effectually disposed of
the Resolutions by carrying the House a long
stage beyond them. It is now plain that those
thirteen propositions were introduced merely to
gain time for the Government in its dealings with
its own party. No parliamentary reason canbe shown
why the proposals contained in Mr. DisasEti's last
speech should not have been made a fortnight
earlier. We may be sure that they would have
been produced if the party had been ready to
agree upon them. A Conservative contemporary,
however, has explained the mystery. The pro-
posals which Mr. DISRAELI unfolded on Monday
night are not those with reference to which the
Resolutions were framed. They are not such as
the Conservatives really think best for the country.
If the Standard is to be believed, they have been
hurriedly constructed within these last few days,
to supply the place of something infinitely better,
which Ministers have not the courage to propose
for the sake of the country, and stand or fall by.
The Government had a plan, which " would have
" met all the reasonable claims of the most
" numerous class, without infringing the rights
" of other classes, or impairing the high cha-
" racier of the House of Commons." But
this " open, earnest, effectual, permanent
" settlement" is not to be recommended, or
even mentioned, to Parliament. No wonder
that delay was wanted, and that Mr. Diassem
was not prepared last night to fix a day for the
introduction of a Bill.

But now that these new proposals are made ;
what reason have we for believing that they repre-
sent the views of the great Conservative party I
Mr. WALPOLE says that "Ministers will stand or
" fall by any proposal which they may deem vital
" to the settlement of these questions on princi-
" plea which they believe to be essential to the
" proper working of the Constitution." But this
high-toned declaration really tells us nothing;
the proposals mentioned by Mr. Thuoistm are not
even before the House. They exist only as a
foreshadowing of a measure which might but does
not exist, and which may never come into being.
As Mr. Lows observed, they are merely " in the
" air." Nor does any one know to what extent
they are acceptable to the party in whose name
they are brought forward. If they had been laid
before the House in time, the general body of
Conservatives would have had a fair chance of ex-
pressing their opinions on Monday ; but kept
profoundly secret by Ministers, and ultimately
divulged to the party only • couple of hours
before they were propounded to the House, they
have not been able to receive the endorsement of
the usual supporters of the Government in de-
bate. There was nothing in tho behaviour
of the Conservative Members in the House of
Commons on Monday to show they had any
strong sympathy with the ministerial proposals,
or any confidence in their success. They