Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1855-07-20

these arc all the privileges you con legiti.
mately claim. We therefore insist that when
you aspire TO places Of honor or emolument
in the civil or military service of this coun.
try, you shall not be at all the gamers in a
fair competition Of merit, on account Of your
superiority at the Ileralds College"
Now, at least as regards the subordinate
stations Of government, no one has yet been
found SO stolid as to deny that there exists
pressing necessity for these reforms Per-
haps you have noticed how in the debate on
Mr. Layard's motion there was a kind Of
petition on all sides for the credit Of being
administrative Reformcrs '-insomuch that.
as heard Mr.. Layard ray at Drurv Lane be-
suddenly found himself at the tail of tho
movement" TO use Mr. Dickens figure.
red tape certainly grows redder" every day
at the demands made upon it, but you have
seen how it actually has again and again re
Taxed its clasp on its musty old patents Of
authority. English conservatism will not
concede much at time, but the people will
60 on exposing abuses by the heap, and re
cciving concessions by the dole, until in about
the year Of gracc--I don't know whether to
begin with u ] or n 2-but sometime--tlIia
country will wake up to find itself we'll
governed.
But ! pass on to say word about Mr.
Dickens at Drury Lane-fyr know littls
gossip about him will be more acceptable
than my political fluctuations. OF course
he was as witty as witty could be Of course
we knew he would be- and WE should have
laughed at him if he hadn't been. And now
wonder whether Mr. Dickens was really ar
Administrative Reformer 5cfore he hit upon
that joke compounded Of the Exchequer tai
lies and tho little old woman wish the zig
that wouldn't go, or whether the oppOrtuni-
ty of getting that OF publicly didn't actually
bride him into Administrative Reform. do
declare that | believe most of us would Join
anything, if we were tempted with such an
opportunity. Mr.. Dickens declared that thi.
was the first political meeting he had ever
attended, and that his business in life had no.
been associated with politics, but Mr., Layar1
assured him he was much mistaken, for he
had drne more than any man living towa1!'
, craving the poor and rich together and holr
ing them understand one another, and that
was politics Of the best kind. You will all read
Dickens Speech, so l needn't tell you any
thing about what he said but you may like
to know how he said it. He didn't say it, a.
you would have expected with the same
homely, easy, coy, irresistible manner with
which he " says it In his books, but with 6
, little of the air of foreign dandy in ar
j. Opera. Nevertheless he said it well-so vel
I that almost as much time was spent in cheer
{ ing as in hearing him. Dickens is vel
y built man, rather stout, and to speak tbs
truth rather pleJcidn in spite of his nous
, tache and an air too much approaching tc
vanity. His delivery was remarkably de
liberate and had the air of being studied. 1
f is needless to say that Mr., Dickens has car
d ried an additional popularity with him t,
p, the measure of Administrative Reform, an
-. we hope that his matchless ridicule will d
+ something Of the same service to this caus
that Nicholas Nickleby did for the schools 0
b, Yorkshire.
! Your Chronicler.
, GRIFFITH