Mr. Labouchere on Thursday made at Bexhill a speech of
some importance. He stated his intention of opposing any Land-Purchase scheme,—first, because British money would go to the landlords ; and secondly, because he was afraid of the argument that if the State owned the soil of Ireland, it could not afford to grant Home-rule, —a most noteworthy admission. The extreme Radicals whom Mr. Labonchere leads want the disintegration of the Empire, not the pacification of Ireland. He would, however, accept the Local Government scheme, because they could use the local authorities to fight for Home-rule, and he was in favour of accepting arms from one's enemies and then shooting them down,—again an admission to be pondered. Curiously enough, Mr. Labon- chere is not heartily in favour of retaining Irish Members in Westminster. He would like the old Bill ; and though he assents to the retention of the Irish, he thinks " there is a great deal to be said on both sides,"—which means that he will vote with his constituents, but retain his own opinion. Of course, he attacked Mr. Chamberlain, whom he compared to an acrobat "patronised by the nobility and gentry," and whose party, if he had one, ought to call themselves " Joeites " or " Judasites." Well, the most useful men in England are called " Bobbies."
