Mr. Disraeli gained a remarkable though an easy victory on
Monday night. Mr. Bentinck moved that the head of the Admi- ralty should always be a sailor, and for some reason we do not quite understand—for Mr. Bentinck had only eighteen followers, and the motion was hardly serious—Mr. Disraeli delivered a long defence of the practice, in which he quoted, in its defence, the opinion of almost every statesman of recent years. The speech is the best worth reading and keeping that he has delivered of late years, a perfectly unanswerable defence of a practice which at first sight seems indefensible. His argument showing that even Naval men have more confidence in the judgment of a civilian as regards promotions, than in the judgment of an Admiral, who is sure to favour a particular set, is quite con- vincing, and should be carefully remembered, if ever we are asked to place a Royal Duke at the head of the Admiralty "because be is a sailor."
Previous page
