It was impossible for the Government to endure the repeal
of the Land Act by a side-wind, and in the teeth of the Represen- tative House, and therefore, while Lord Granville on Monday announced that the Government would be no party to the in- quiry, Mr. Gladstone, acting on a precedent set by Lord Melbourne, gave notice that on Monday next he should move that " Parliamentary inquiry at the present moment into the operation of the Irish Land Act will tend to defeat the operation of the Act, and be injurious to the good government of Ireland." The notice was received with ringing cheers by the Liberals, and dumb consternation by the Tories, but in a moment or two Sir W. Barttelot shouted that the Premier intended to gag one House and threaten the other, and Sir Stafford Northcote objected to interrupt the debate on Procedure. It has subsequently been understood that the Tory leader will meet the motion with a direct nega- tive; and, of course, as the working of the Land Act will be virtually the subject of discussion, there will be another long Irish debate. That is most unfortunate, but the Government had no option. It was necessary both to assure Ireland that the House of Commons adhered to the Act, and to give the House of Lords a sharp reminder that it had no right to interfere with the law of the land, otherwise the work of government would become impossible. The Peers have never done an act which so convinced statesmen that their privileges have become inconsistent with good government and social order.
