Mr. Dixon, Member for Birmingham, announces that he is about
to retire, and Mr. Chamberlain, the Mayor, has been formally accepted as candidate by the Liberal Association, and will probably be returned unopposed. We are not very likely to approve Mr. Chamberlain's action in the House of Commons, as he is the strongest upholder of the secularist policy in regard to eiliAration, but he ought to be an acquisition to Parliament. He can express with great force and clearness the opinion of advanced Radicals, he is not afraid of large plans, and he has shown in his three years' Mayoralty very consider- able administrative skill. His entire self - confidence will be restrained by the influence of the House, his indecorous plainness of speech is sure to tone down, and he is totally with-
out that disposition to wishy-washy platitudes which weakens the speeches of most members of his school. We congratulate Birmingham on finding another Member who will be, at all events, a distinctive, if not also a distinguished, figure in the House.
Previous page
