The Franchise agitation was discredited on Monday by a senseless
outbreak of violence at Birmingham. The Con- servatives had called a meeting in the Aston Grounds to hear Sir Stafford Northcote and Lord R. Churchill ; but the rougher Liberals, either fancying that Birmingham would be misrepresented, or irritated at some manipulation of the tickets, scaled the wall of the grounds, and ultimately pulled down a portion of it ; and bursting into the hall where the actual meeting was held, laid about them with chair-legs. A great many persons were wounded ; and as it was found impossible to address the meeting, the speakers retired to the neighbouring hotel, whither the original audience followed. The incident is a most regrettable one, all the more so as it gave Lord Randolph Churchill an opportunity to advise "retaliation," which might produce serious conse- quences. There is no excuse whatever in this agitation for a resort to violence, more especially by Liberals, who are bound .to respect freedom of discussion, who have all the physical force on their side, and who are morally certain to win their cause. The Tories, it is true, use provoking language ; but the Liberals are not reticent, and it is hard to refuse the losers in a battle the relief of swearing a little. At all events, they ought not to 'ha bludgeoned with chair-legs.
