Mr. James Lowther, writing from Leeds on December 26th, to
the Lord Mayor, to enclose a contribution of L'25 to the Property Defence Association which the Lord Mayor has founded, begins by dashing his handful of gold, as it were, in the face of the Government, before requesting the Lord Mayor to gather it up, and apply it to the purposes of his fund :— " If I may be permitted to do so," he says, " I would venture to give expression to the opinion that the necessity for the exist- ence of any such funds as those so worthily presided over by your lordship is nothing short of a national disgrace, for.which, at the proper time and place, it is to be hoped that there will be no hesitation in calling those responsible to account. Mean- while, daring the abeyance of the usual agencies which in all civilised communities are supposed to be charged with the pro- tection of property, it seems to be the bounden duty of all loyal subjects, without distinction of political party, to rally round the only means apparently available for the preservation of what remains of proprietary right in Ireland, and for the relief of sufferers from anarchy." We should think that this kind of letter is not very well adapted to make " all loyal subjects, without distinction of political party, rally round" the Lord Mayor's Fund. It is like asking all loyal persons, without dis- tinction of political party, to strengthen Mr. Lowther's case for that attempt to lay the blame on the Government of which he warns us. And as a matter of fact, it is certainly difficult to• believe that if Mr. Lowther could not have used his gold as a missile to pitch at the Government, the Lord Mayor would have got it at all.
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