There is one Member of the new Parliament, Sir George
Harrison, already dead, and Mr. Childers has been asked to stand for South Edinburgh in his place. We heartily hope that he will be returned by much the same majority as that which returned Sir George Harrison. Mr. Childers is not only one of the most distinguished and fair-minded of the Members of the old Parliament, but he is thoroughly master of our finance, and no one can give the English democracy betteradvice as to how to administer its affairs prudently than he. It was his policy that the present Conservative Government attacked, and attacked really, though not nominally, for his pro- posal to equalise the taxation on real and personal estate. If he made a mistake, as we think he did, in advocating conces- sions to Ireland which seem to us far short of what would satisfy the Irish even temporarily, while they went beyond what we could safely give, if the Irish are not to be given carte blanche to keep up and extend the disorder which now prevails there, he made the mistake with that deep conscientious conviction which has marked all his statesmanship ; and it would be the worst policy to visit such an error as that on one of our most thoroughly wise and experienced men by excluding him from Parliament. If Edinburgh should return both Mr. Goschen and Mr. Childers, Edinburgh will have identified itself com- pletely with the policy of wise and cautious reform.
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