14 MARCH 1868, Page 2

Mr. Hunt was re-elected on Saturday without opposition, and addressed

his constituents at Kettering, Northamptonshire. He

appeared, like his leader, in the totally unaccustomed character of Uriah Heep, which must have sat oddly on his jolly burliness. He actually apologized for his own appointment. His " prede- -cessors were intellectual giants, and his own qualifications com- pared badly with theirs." He "approached his task with great anxiety as to whether he should be able to discharge the duties elevolving on him," but hoped "for a fair trial at the hands of his -countrymen." We wonder he did not say a jury of his peers. "Mr. Disraeli had been limited in his choice by a curious combination of circumstances," and he, Mr. Hunt, "could not triumph in his -own rapid elevation." This is really funny. Mr. Hunt is so completely a Conservative country gentleman that he looks on Mr. DisraelPs selection for the Exchequer from the outside, and disapproves it. He will do better to follow Pio Nono's example, and under impossible circumstances still believe in himself. The rest of his speech contained no political matter of any interest.