Lord Randolph Churchill at Lynn on Monday was in the
main unusually moderate and sensible, and, as usual,
seemed to care little about principles. He is not for free education, though he formerly was ; but he is willing to limit the fee for rural cottagers always to a penny a week. Is that not a little like the French plan of refus- ing poor relief in principle, but fixing a maximum price for bakers' bread P Then he would not give compulsory powers to the Councils to purchase and redistribute land; but would give them, under restrictions, to be exercised slowly and with great caution, and always with an appeal to Parliament. That is very like the old law of divorce. Divorce was forbidden; but if you could pay for it you might, on cause shown, get a private Act. Lord Randolph made out, however, a good case in respect of expenditure, showing that an allotment of three acres to -each labourer in Norfolk would, if let at a pound an acre, and if all rents were always strictly paid, raise the rates, exclusive of poor-rates, at least one-third. It is a very curious fact, and one which shows the great change that has been made in the depositaries of power, that the ratepayers' side of this land scheme is the one least -talked about. We shall hear plenty of it before all is done, but we are old enough to remember when we should have heard of it -first.
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