On Wednesday Mr. Kimber continued the debate on Mr. Sinclair's
amendment to the Address urging the importance of redistribution. Mr. Kimber, to whom the greatest possible credit is due for , the persistence, and yet moderation, with which he has year after year kept this most important subject before the public,, went over the old ground and showed how monstrous were the anomalies of our present system of repre- sentation, and how ridiculously out of proportion was the electoral power conferred on Ireland. Our readers, however, are so fully cognisant of these facts that we will not repeat them. Mr. Balfour followed Mr. Kimber in a Apeech which in some quarters has been regarded as very unsatisfactory, but which, in our opinion, was a. perfectly sufficient pledge and guarantee that the Government will deal with the matter before they dissolve Parliament. It is true that in the first part of his speech Mr. Balfour used his great dialectical skill to show that no arithmetical formula could be the only basis fer an electoral system. When, however, he had made this point, One which, we may agree, should never be forgotten, and one which is never likely to be forgotten in England; he dealt with the main issue quite sympathetically. ,
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