The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-20 00:00:00

_LONDON, FRIDAY, DEC. 20, 1867.

Mr. GLADSTONE 18 determined to repay himself
with interest for the silence that was imposed upon

him during the recent Parliamentary Session, partly
by the force of circumstances, and partly, we must
add, through his own good taste and feeling. At
any rate, his constituents have been favoured with
many illustrations of his eloquence, and can form a
pretty good opinion of the merits of the case of Re-
form. It may be suggested that the tale is old and
the subject threadbare, but the right honourable
gentleman has determined to fight his battle over
again and thrice to slay the slain. By this time
it is tolerably certain that neither excitement nor
interest can be got up to any considerable extent
on the subject ; but, such as it is in intrinsic merit,
of course Mr. GLADSTONE can make it attractive
by his word painting and glowing imagery of ex-
pression. In the first place, he began by felicitat-
ing himself and thanking his hearers for the great
honour they had done him in returning him as
their representative upon a very short notice. It
may be suggested that the compliment paid to these
constituents would have been given had Mr. GLAD-
STONE appeared fresh on the scene, and not come
mong them, only because Oxford would not
have him. In this retrospective glance Mr. GLAD-
STONE goes back to the time when the confidence
of the country was given to the Liberal party,
and a majority of some sixty or seventy made
that party a powerful one. A great deal must
be allowed to those speakers who are placed in
peculiar circumstances, and feel natural vexation
on a particular topic, but really it requires a
considerable share of fortitude when Mr. GLAD-
STONE avers that the Government of 1866 did all
that could be done in the way of " using every
effort that they could to unite together, by
a conciliatory course, if it were possible, all parties
of politicians in carrying harmoniously and in a
friendly spirit, a change which might grow to
violence and danger, and which it was quite evident
must in a short time be carried." This is extraor-
dinary, to say the least of it, because it is well
known thatjMr. GLADSTONE acted in a most uncon-
ciliatory spirit, and by his premature declaration and
hasty manner contrived to alienate a good many of
his own followers. However this may be, the right
hon. gentleman now aspires to the honour of mar-
tyrdom, and claims for himself and his party the
credit of having in reality caused the triumph of
Reform.

It is well to keep to one thing or the other, and
yet we are quite at a loss to reconcile the astonish-
ing discrepancies to be met with in this speech, for
we find, in the first place, that the Liberals have
passed this late measure, and next we are told that
it contains considerable defects ; " that the redis-
tribution of seats is wholly inadequate, and the
provision with respect to rating very objectionable,"
and, adds the right hon. gentleman, like a post-
script, " another great mistake was made in the
minority vote." It can hardly be called
captious to say that, to judge by the
words of Mr. GLADSTONE himself, it is very much
like the old story of catching a Tartar, and that the
Liberals were forced into accepting a measure in-
stead of compelling their opponents to realise their
own principles and put their meaning into effect.

In the evening Mr. GLADSTONE delivered another
speech to his constituents at Southport as long as
the one he addressed to those at Ormskirk. On
this occasion he referred to the Abyssinian war, and
condescended to say that he did not attach any
special blame to those now in power in con-
nection with this unfortunate necessity. We
Should think not, when it was entirely
through the blundering management and wavering
action of his own friends that the confusion about
Abyssinia first arose, and that the responsibility of
the war rests with. them, and no others. It is, how-
ever, wel known that Mr. GLADSTONE thinks too
much of peace, and thereby neglects some of the
truest interests of the country, for if we followed
all his advice implicitly, we should not only be a
" nation of shopkeepers," but be unable to protect
OUT property. Mr. GLADSTONE'S observations upon
the recent disturbances that have taken place are very
good, and do credit to his statesman-like capacity.
He says very truly that we must not confound the
cause of Fenianism with the cause of Ireland any
further, as he declares emphatically that he knows
not whom it may please or whom it may offend ;
but, in his opinion, a " deep moral taint and pro-
found degradation is in this thing which we call
Fenianisnt." The right hon. gentleman very pro-
perly denounced the Fenian invasion of Canada
some two years ago, and the remarks he then made
upon Fenianism have been more than justified
and do credit to his discr.lnment. From Canada,
Its he says, we pass to Manchester, and
from Manchester to Clerkenwell, and in all these
proceedings we shall find a painful family like-
ness. Mr. GLADSTONE off.rs wise counsel when
be urges his hearers not to make the cause of
Fenianism a reproach to our Atlantic brethren,
and not to judge in a hasty and extravagant
manner in dealing with the subject. Altogether
it cannot be said that Mr. GLADSTONE was very
extreme or bitter in his remarks. Of course he
.„„
was severe and rather prejudiced, but, taken as a
whole, his speeches do not seem to indicate
any great degree of an togonistn to his
political opponents. He seeks, in his concluding
sentences, to draw a moral from what has occurred.
He assures his constituents that it may be all for
the best that he and his friends are not now in office,
because the principles they advocate may thereby