Sir Henry Storks has at length found a seat, having
been elected for Ripon. The Contagious Diseases' Act must, it is clear, be aban- doned, even if its moral results were less doubtful than they are, as we cannot enforce hygienic laws in the teeth of the whole people ; but it is not to the credit of the constituencies that they refused on such a ground to elect an officer whose assistance was indispensa- ble to the reorganization of the Army. Sir llenry was perfectly certain not to maintain the Act in spite of the electorate, and would have been unworthy his position if he had denied his own opinion through fear of losing a seat. There is an absence of toleration for individuality in our medium boroughs which bodes ill for the future, and a dislike to officials besides, which seems as if the people really hated to be well served. Why should a farmer- hate his ploughmen more than the neighbouring idlers?
Previous page
