The Express.
London, England, 1866-09-26 00:00:00

patience, which has already reached the limits of safety

The Herald describes the speech as made up of rtale I
figures, unlimited self assertion, and arrogant abut) of
political opponents. It has long known what Mr. Bright
is, how restless his egotism, how unscrupulous his tongue,
how malignant his antipathies. But in proportion as the
artificial and rather stagy reform agitation proceeds, he
seems to sink, lower and lower, beneath all sentiment of
self-respect.
What is 11r. Bright reckoning upon ? asks the Post. He
cannot for a moment imagine that the radical reformers
in the House of Commons are competent to defeat Lord
Derby's government, and the idea of a coalition with the
moderate liberals on the hula of what he calls a " satis-
factory" measure of reform is simply preposterous, ex-
cept on terms which would be equally dishonourable to
both parties ; and in that case there must be a compromise.
Is Mr. Bright fishing for such a compromise, and are
these " demonstrations" intended to overawethegreat body
of liberals in the house, and to admit of the construction,
on their suppressed convictions, of a platform upon which
Mr. Bright and Mr. Gladstone could stand together ?
But though Mr. Bright does not appear to see it, the
Reform question is passing out of the sphere of his dicta-
tin°. Two or three months of agitation will deprive him
of all command over it, and if he acts up to the spirit of
the address which was presented to him on Monday, the
country will apprehend, and apprehending, be ready to
diu-harge, the duties which may be imposed upon it.
The Telegraph finds in the speech of Mr. Bright no
abuse of innocent persons or equally innocent institutions,
no ill-natured reflections on the highest personage in the
realm, but a loyal and generous compliment ; no rancorous
denunciation of either church or peerage, but a solemn
and weighty appeal to the House of Lords, not less
remarkable for its statesmanlike wisdom, than for the
tact with which it is expressed. If we add to all this an
honest and faithful reproof of the vices and shortcomings
from which the artisan class is unhappily the reverie of
free, we find a fairness and balance of judgment, which
render doubly valuable Mr. Brig' ht's acceptance of the re-
sponsible position to which he has been summoned by the
confidence of his fellow-cltizens. Let the aristocracy help
its unenfranchised fellow-citizens to attain their alma, and
it will add to its own power. On the ground of fairness, too,
we should bear in mind that all the important reforms of
recent generations have, in England, come from below,
and not from above.
Mr. Bright's speech at the banquet last night, which
will probably occasion more comment than the one de-
livered on the previous day, was received in town at too late
an hour to be dealt with by the morning papers.

AUCTION '' HNOCK-OtTS.''

The Times continues to publish letters drawing atten-
tion to one of the moot iniquitous abuses ever introduced
into a respectable trade. Under the present system, an
auction, remarks the Time, is the most ruinous method of
disposing of any sort of goods. The knock-out plan, it
must be understood, consists in a combination by which,
In point of fact, an article is withdrawn from
sale at the public auction. One or two ex-
amples have been given by the correspondents. A
book which is worth 90i. is put up. The book-