On Wednesday, Sir William Harcourt explained what measures the Government
intended to press besides the Budget. The first is the Evicted Tenants Bill, the next the Equalisation of Rates Bill, and the last is the Scotch Local Government Bill. They will also do what they can to help the Miners' Eight-hours Bill through the House of Commons if the House should accept the second reading. But they make no absolute promise under this head, and Colonel Nolan was told that no hope could be held out of passing this year the repeal of the Irish Crimes Act of 1887. This might seem a modest forecast after so great a flourish of trumpets at the opening of the Session, but, as Mr. Chamberlain showed in his most brilliant and amusing speech of Thursday night, it is really almost preposterously sanguine, unless, indeed, the Opposition should endeavour to help the lame Government over the stile with much more energy and con- passion than Oppositions, Conservative or Liberal, ever ease to devote to the functions of the good Samaritan.
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