21 NOVEMBER 1931, Page 50

A Hundred Years Ago

As the period of Parliament's assembling approaches, the publics as usual, are entertained with various rumours, new hatched at the time, of alterations in the Cabinet. The Ministers, it is said, quail ; the King cools. We believe both hypotheses—for they are mere hypotheses—to be utterly unfounded. The Ministers are slow and hesitating, and their means are often indifferently chosen, but they are no traitors. For the King, we believe he will be found, like all his race, true to the course he has chosen. No Brunswick has ever turned his back on his friend or his enemy. But our trust is not in Princes. If the present Ministry were weak and worthless enough to deceive the People, the power of the King is insufficient to maintain them in place for a week ; if they continue true to their word, the power of the King is insufficient to maintain their opponents for a week.