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The Tory reply was totally ineffective, and hardly even pre-

tended to be otherwise. Sir Michael contended that in times of so much depression, it was not wise to insist on principles, and chose to assert that even Mr. Childers's prudent calculations of increased revenue for his proposed increase of the spirits-duty and the beer-duty would not have been justified by the results ; but he failed to bring even good departmental authority to justify his prediction. No opposition was offered to the Budget, which passed, of course, as a Tory act of obeisance to Democratic principles.

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