Since commenting last week on Sir John Lubbock's reply to
Sir Henry Roscoe, Mr. Picton, and the other Home- rulers of the University of London, we have seen a full report of his very terse and able speech, which is so pithy and admirable, that it deserves to be circulated as a leaflet by the Liberal Unionists. But we observe with some regret that he has not yet made up his mind against a federal system, should such a system be proposed by Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Parnell. He will not hear, he says, of keeping Irish Members to interfere with our English legislation, while English and Scotch Members are to be excluded from all influence on Irish legislation ; but a complete federal system, if proposed, ought to be considered. We should have thought it quite clear that a complete federal system is just as little suited to the United Kingdom, as our system would be suited to the United States. There are no serious applicants as yet except Ireland for the position of component States ; and what could be more mischievous than to construct States artificially for the purpose of introducing Federalism, instead of con- structing Federalism for the sake of the States P It is like breaking a vase in order that you may cement the parts together again, instead of cementing the parts together because the vase has been broken.
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