There are rumours again by the score, and among them
the most probable seems to be this. There is a violent dispute within the Cabinet, as within the Tory party, as to the policy to be pursued with respect to the franchise. One section is for granting as little, the other as much as can safely be given, the limits being 61. rating on the one side, and household suffrage on the other. So bitter is the dispute that it can hardly end without either the resignation or the reconstruction of the Government, more especially as a majority of the Tory party, the Squire members, in fact, have informed Lord Derby that whatever Bill he brings in he must stand or fall by it, and not allow it to be amended into a new measure. Mr. Disraeli's answer on Thursday night, when asked to fix a day for his Bill, showed much indecision, and it is quite possible that the Bill, if introduced at all, will differ very considerably from Monday's programme. The detail of difll- culties in the Cabinet is of course rarely known abroad, but the split in the Tory ranks is patent, and may be fatal.
