The Lord Mayor's banquet on Wednesday was shorn of most
of its brilliance by the absence of Mr. Gladstone, Sir William Harcourt, Mr. Morley, and Lord Rosebery ; and the speeches of Lord Kimberley, Lord Herschell, Lord Spencer, and Mr. Asquith, did not make up in interest for those of the lost leaders. Indeed, the competition between the various speakers seemed to be as to which of them should most skilfully avoid committing the Government to any important state- ment. Lord Kimberley, however, who answered to the toast of "The Administration," did manage to say one or two things of some note. He declared that there was no intention at all of superseding the silver standard used in India. He showed by figures that, for the present, Ireland is even quieter under the Government pledged to Home-rule than it was under the Government pledged to maintain the Union as it is. He admitted that the late Government had not contemplated abandoning Uganda, and promised the most deliberate con- sideration to the arguments against abandoning it, in lan- guage that suggested at least his own preference for the policy of " J'y Buis, j'y reste." He assured his audience that he fully expected the Government to come to an agreement with Russia as to the delimitation of boundaries in the Pamirs. And finally, he told the Lord Mayor that the Government is about to propose a variety of measures to Parliament, " many " of which will excite strong political opposition. We have no doubt of it; but we cannot say that we expect many of them to be seriously pressed. Many will be brought for- ward just to show what the Government would do, if it could, but few will be chosen.
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