Mr. Chamberlain made an interesting speech on Thursday at Halesowen,
in North Worcestershire, in favour of Mr. Bridg- man, the Unionist candidate for the division. "If Mr. Glad- stone," he said, " gets a working majority, we need not trouble our heads about any of the items in the Newcastle Programme. We shall never hear of them again till the next Election. The Newcastle Programme is kept in the Gladstone bag. When there is another Election on, the bag is opened, and out fly all the promises that you can conceive of ; the moment the Election is over, snap goes the Gladstone bag, and all the promises are shut up again." We will not go quite as far as that, for it may be necessary not to disappoint the English counties, which have been converted in such troops to Mr. Gladstone's side, too blankly. But we do not as yet see what concession Mr. Gladstone is likely to select as the most feasible reward for their confidence in him. The difficulty of Welsh Disestablishment will be almost in•
superable, and besides, Welsh Disestablishment would only whet the appetites of English Disestablishers. " One man, one vote," will hardly be welcome in Ireland, where the corol- lary, " One vote, one value," would be so very inconvenient. Perhaps either the payment of Members, or a new Registra- tion Bill with a great diminution in the necessary time of residence, will be the concession selected to reward the con- fidence of the agricultural voters ; but we fear the last of these measures will excite very faint and dubious gratitude.
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