Mr. Gladstone's speech in Midlothian, which was delivered on Wednesday
in the Albert Hall, Edinburgh, will, we fear, Mr. Gladstone's speech in Midlothian, which was delivered on Wednesday in the Albert Hall, Edinburgh, will, we fear, disappoint his followers. There was some thunder, but no lightning. He promised that Sir Charles Cameron's Bill, disestablishing the Church of Scotland, should have a good place next Session; but the subject of his discourse was the conduct of the Lords in rejecting his Home-rule Bill. Parlia- ment, he said, was overweighted ; there was a famine of legislation, the reason of this was the Irish agitation, and the reason for that agitation was the action of the Lords. Five hundred gentlemen responsible to nobody were opposing the representatives of six million electors,—a curious blunder in statistics, as nearly half the electors are on the other side. He had, however, watched the Lords for sixty years ; they always opposed popular measures, which neverthe- less always passed. He gave instances of this, quoted else- where, and stated that while he was opposed to "violence "- meaning, we presume, mob-attacks on Parliament, or perhaps the use of explosives—he believed that it might be necessary to consider the "independent and. irresponsible existence" of the House of Lords. He had, however, "no cut-and-dry scheme" for dealing with them, and rather hoped that they would reconsider themselves. That is a little feeble, though, no doubt, Mr. Gladstone's hands are a good deal tied by the fact that if all Peers quitted his Cabinet, it would go to pieces. Lord Spencer and the rest may like being called "irrespon- sible gentlemen," but they would hardly like open threats addressed to their Order. By-the-way, one fails to perceive why, if the " irresponsible " Peers who threw out Home-rule are so contemptible, the " irresponsible " Peers who voted for it are any better ; yet on them Mr. Gladstone lavished com- pliments.
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