Sir Michael Hicks-Beach delivered one of his bitter dia- tribes
against the Government at the Philharmonic Hall at Tewkesbury, on Wednesday. He said that Mr. Gladstone was a statesman who only required to be properly tackled in order to be made to give way. Now this, if it be so, speaks very ill for the Conservative party, for Mr. Gladstone has been not only properly, but very improperly, " tackled " by them on scores of separate occasions this Session, and the only case of giving way which Sir M. Hicks-Beach could produce was in relation to the more stringent powers imposed on and accepted by Government in relation to the Cattle Importation Act, commonly known as the Contagions Diseases (Animals) Amendment Act. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach called upon the House of Lords to reject the Franchise Bill, though ad.. miffing that the constituencies decided in 1880 on extending the franchise to the agricultural labourers ; and, after that, of course, he went down into Egypt, repeated a good deal of what he said in proposing the vote of censure, and ended by calling upon his hearers to help in bringing to account "the worst Government that ever disgraced Great Britain." Sir Michael Hicks-Beach used to aim at combining strength with modera- tion. He now seems to aim at combining temper with ex- aggeration, and succeeds better, perhaps, than he did when he aimed higher.
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