On Monday it was announced that Sir James Fergusson had
been appointed Postmaster General. The appointment is probably as good a one as could have been made at the moment, for there is no inspired administrator available, and Sir James Fergusson is, at any rate, a good official and a good answerer of questions. The Treasury Bench baiters will, indeed, find his unimpassioned doggedness much less to their mind than Mr. Raikes' quick-wittedness. The latter was always "rising," but Sir James Fergusson can be as irrespon- sive to the tormentor as a jelly-fish, —witness Mr. Labouchere's unavailing attempts to heckle him over the Triple Alliance. The appointment causes a vacanoy in North-East Manchester, and as Sir James only won by a majority of 327 in 1886, there is not much margin for accidents. It is to be noted that the constituency, which embraces Ancoats—the poorest quarter of Manchester—has more Irish voters than any other in England, with the exception of the Scotland Division of Liverpool and North Manchester. There are at present two thousand Irish- men on the register. Of these some two hundred only are Parnellites, but they are at bitter fend with the McCarthyites, and are not unlikely to abstain. If they do, Sir James Fer- gusson's friends should have no cause for anxiety. Mr Scott, the editor of the Manchester Guardian, who contested the Division unsuccessfully in 1886, is again to fight it for the Home-rulers. He is a popular candidate, and he will no doubt find the backing of the Guardian a very considerable help.
