23 FEBRUARY 1889, Page 2

Lord Rosebery began his speech by referring with rueful humour

to the burden of responsibility which he had undertaken in accepting the chairmanship of the London County Council,— a responsibility, however, which for the nonce he had ignored, as the Council met on Tuesday, while he was in Scotland,—and remarked that Scotchmen used to think the road to England the finest prospect in Scotland, but that he should very soon come to the converse view, that the finest prospect in England was the road to Scotland. He declared that the tendencies and effects of the Local Government Bill could not be in any way gauged during the infancy of the County Councils, and could not be in any degree appreciated in the first three years. Lord Rosebery's inference that, because the County Council elections had turned out very much in favour of the Radical Party, therefore the principle of " One man, one vote," would yield very radical results in Parliamentary elections, was highly untrustworthy. As a matter of fact, very many Conservatives, and still more Unionists, have supported Radical candidates on the County Councils, because they thought them the best men in local politics, and because they altogether disapproved of dragging political considerations into the neutral sphere. Many, too, have felt that nothing is more conservative in its influence than to connect the rising men of local mark with the defence of constitutional power in their own neighbourhood. And thus a motive the very opposite of that which Lord Rosebery attributes to them, has animated a vast number of the voters for the County Councils. It is not the principle of "One man, one vote," but the principle of " One man, many uses," which has disposed so many Conservatives to draw the sting of Radicalism by turning Radicals to the best account in local matters.