Mr. Mill has published a long and very able letter
in defence of his interference in the Kilmarnock election. He cannot see, he says, why he should refrain from giving his opinion when asked, -and though keenly sensible of the importance of not dividing the Liberal party, thinks that the way in which the old electors en- gross all the representation, leaving none for the new, is not very hopeful for unity. "The old men are to be represented by them- selves, and the new men by the old." The "difficulty is always solved by the new men retiring and the old men magnanimously accepting their retirement." The real danger of the Liberal party, in Mr. Mill's judgment, is the election of men fundamentally at variance, men who cast reluctant looks back to the old order of 'things, and who will thwart their leader in every step preliminary to disestablishment. As to the special case of Kilmarnock, Mr. Mill holds that a Liberal member who called the Liberal party a -" rabble " with " a leader incapable of leading " has no claim -upon party fidelity. Mr. Mill makes out an excellent case for -himself, but we still think certificates such as he gave Mr. Chad- -wick should be given only when the constituency has asked them, 'that leading politicians should act as referees rather than election agents.
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