"THE PERSONAL QUALITIES OF CANDIDATES." [To THE EDITOR OF THE
" SPECTATOR."] SIB,—In an article entitled " The Personal Qualities of Candi- dates," published in last week's Spectator, the following sentence occurs : —" No doubt, Lord Hartington's laughing attacks on Mr. Cross, and the readiness and humour which he showed in his can- vass in North-East Lancashire, had not a little to do with his own and his colleague's triumph (though Mr. Grafton, by the way, seems to have been carried by Lord Hartington without any .active oratorical co-operation of his own)." The reference to Lord Hartington is entirely just, but I trust you will permit me to enter a good-humoured protest against the bracketed bit of ,comment on Mr. Grafton. I fancy all the " men of light and leading" among the Liberals of North-East Lancashire would join me in taking exception to the statement that Mr. Grafton was ".carried by Lord Hartington," and it is certainly not the case that he ,vas carried " without any active oratorical co-opera. tion of his own.." In point of fact, Mr. Grafton spoke, perhaps, on an average three-quarters of an hour every evening for a fortnight together, and he seemed to do so to the entire content and satisfaction of his large audiences. Perhaps if I add that he made frequent use of the Spectator, the circumstance will not be held, certainly not by your readers, of whom I am one of the most assiduous, to detract from his political sagacity. Of course, for obvious reasons, his speeches were not reported at the same length as Lord Hartington's, and in the Loudon Press he was hardly reported at all; but he made a good oratorical fight, nevertheless, though his exploits lacked a London nar-
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