Lord Palmerston's progress in the West Riding has been brought
to a sudden ending. Lady Palmerston caught cold, just before Lord Palmerston was on his way to Wakefield, and they both returned to town. The characteristic of this happy inroad into Yorkshire is the hearty good feeling on both sides. Lord Palmerston eschewed politics and talked sound sense, and he is liked because he does talk sound sense. Men love him, because he is, before all things, an Englishman ; and they ad- mire him because his tact and ability rarely fail him, never in dealing with a popular assemblage. The order to destroy the lock-up—" worthy of Naples "—at Fairburn was as felicitous as his speech at the railway station ; and his speech at the Ragged School meeting contained the whole pith of the question, and showed the most generous and philosophic appreciation of the causes of crime. The manly good-heartedness of the Premier comes out in all.
The visit of Lord Palmerston to Yorkshire has more a social than a political significance. Not so the speeches of Sir John Pakington at Worcester, and Mr. Bouverie at Kilmarnock. These two speakers may very fairly be pitted against each other. We have said something of Sir John elsewhere. His object was purely to elevate his party at the expense of 'tother party. But it is a curious fact that even Sir John praised Lord Palmerston. Mr. Du Cane did the same. Every Tory now thinks it the thing to get up and applaud the Premier, and tell you he does so be- cause he regards him as a good Conservative. Is this in obedi- ence to some mot d'ordre from Hughenden Manor, or is it the spontaneous outburst of Tory admiration extorted by the manli- ness and moderation of the First Lord of the Treasury ? We demur to Sir John's view of the position of parties, because it is so incomplete, and while we agree with Mr. Bouverie that the Reform Bill was talked to death, and that too much talking is done, we cannot forget that Mr. Bouverie helped to talk the Bankruptcy Bill to death, and that among House of Commons talkers he does not take the lowest place. In the main, how- ever, sensible Englishmen will be inclined to think that Mr. Bouverie has delivered one of the soundest commentaries yet put forward on the vast range of topics included under the head of the late session. Mr. Bouverie, it will be observed, went straight to the cause of our enormous war expenditure. It has, he said, been caused by the restless and uncertain policy of France, and France alone. This is the truth.
Among the other speakers of note have been Mr. Collier on the session, Mr. Hutt on temperance, Mr. Puller on foreign affairs, Lard Stanley and Mr. Beecroft on education ; all sugges- tive speeches.
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