Mr. Balfour is signalising his new position as leader of
the Unionist Party in the Commons by studying not only greater moderation, but also greater brevity and compression in his political speeches,—a change which, we think, may have a very good effect on the political tone of the day. His speech at Accrington yesterday week, which was the most considerable of his Lancashire speeches, was remarkably moderate in tone ; very respectful to Mr. Gladstone personally, whom he said he should like to see concentrating in himself a great deal more of the practical leadership than he actually does ; and on the whole brief as well as vivid. He satirised Sir William Harcourt's warlike metaphors with great humour. "He could hardly have spoken differently," he said, " if, instead of being the leader of the organised forces of Mr. Schnadhorst, he had been the uncontrolled chief of a horde of devastating barbarians." " Ruined castles and burning homesteads, the necessary but tragic results of war, appeared to him to be the proper metaphors to use to indicate the consequences that would follow from a Liberal triumph." It was a question what Sir W. Harcourt's opportunism really meant. If it meant only that the true political policy changes with changing times and circumstances, every Conservative would agree with him. But if it meant changing your policy from time to time with the view of " tickling the palate of your principal supporters," if it meant that you should be reckless in your promises and perfunctory in your per- formances, then "the less opportunism we have, the better."
