The Sun.
London, England, 1870-03-01 00:00:00

THE NEW CONSERVATIVE LEADER.

That the claims of the Duke of Richmond, or, more
correctly speaking, his qualifications, for the position he
n Tcv holds have been so much underrated, may be
ascribed, says the Standard, to that intense ignorance .of
E iglish politics which seems to be the chief qualification
of the present race of Liberal political writers for the
functions they have assumed. He has been selected by
those who know him best, who are aware of his powers
a-id have been the witnesses of his career, to be
their leader, and the Radical newspaper world, knowing
nothing of the Duke of Richmond, professes to be pained
at the extinction of Toryism, confessed in his appointment
to the leadership. The whole political career of the noble
duke shews that he is eminently qualified for the leader-
ship of the Conservative party under the peculiar circum-
stances in which the party is placed. He unites in
himself the chief, the essential qualifications of a
party leader—experience, business aptitude, tact,
readiness, the courtesy which facilitates so much the con-
duct of parliamentary business, the good-will and confi-
dence from supporters which give a party leader his
strength ; and to speak out frankly and in a word our
thought, we know no man on the Conservative benches in
the House of Peers who is on the whole so good a coun-
terpart to Lord Granville, and so well fitted in every
respect to lead the Conservative party against the
genial but always wide-awake and clever Secretary of the
Colonies.

THE FLYING SQUADRON.
The Pall Mall Gazette considers that next to the actual
number of ships, the point of most moment is the use to
which they are habitually put. Mt. Childers takes credit
to himself for the institution of the Flying Squadron.
Besides the advantage in respect of practice in seamanship,
as to which he tells us he is constantly receiving additional
testimonies from Admiral Hornby, it is highly desirable
that our naval strength should be known and appreciated by
foreign nations. It is to be hoped that Englishmen are
growing weary of counting as nothing in European calcu-
lations. So long as the geographical conditions of these
islands prevent Great Britain from becoming that purely
Asiatic Power which one or two eccentric politicians are
anxious to see her, it is well that she should not wholly slip
out of account in Europe. Out of sight is out of mind, in the
case of nations as well as of men ; and, by puttin our-
selves a little more in evidence, we shall be taking natural
inoffensive means of undoing the mischief that has been
wrought by penitential seclusion, in which it has too long
been our pleasure to hide.

THE ME3II3ER FOR TIPPERARY.
The Daily Hews thinks that on the whole Mr. Heron's
experience should be a lesson to him and a warning to
others. The paucity of the votes recorded on his behalf
shews that people have little respect for sham patriotism.
Formerly a law adviser of the Crown, lie has
coquetted with Fenianism. A Queen's Counsel,
he has endeavoured to recommend himself to the
Queen's enemies. Once a Professor in the Queen's
University, he has denounced godless education, and
championed the most extravagant pretensions of the de-
nominational system. A lawyer, and a voluminous
writer, to boot, on jurisprudence, he has made himself a
partner in demands the concession of which would be
incompatible with the rights of property. A scholar, he
has Vandered to the worst prejudices of ignorance and
passion. As his reward he finds his quest of popularity
by these means to have been of little service. On the
whole, the gentle Kickham, as the true Fenian is called,
though the epithet and patronymic seem somewhat incon-
gruous, comes in every way more creditably out of the
matter than his rival. The silent protest of the 6,000
electors who found Mr. Heron as impossible a candidate
as Mr. Kickham himself, ought not to be lost on poli-
ticians who in future may fancy it to their interest to
assume a sham Fenianism.