6 DECEMBER 1884, Page 3

Mr. Courtney has resigned office, on the ground of the

exclu- sion of proportional representation from the Redistribution Bill. It is rumoured that the late Postmaster-General (Mr. Fawcett) and Mr. Courtney had mutually pledged each other to resign, in case the minority principle were not embodied in the Reform Bill ; and now Mr. Courtney feels that he could not honestly ignore that pledge. Rumour has fixed on Mr. Henry Fowler, M.P. for Wolverhampton, as the Member most likely to succeed him, but another report points to Mr. Hibbert.