NEWS OF THE WEEK.
PARLIAMENT meets on Tuesday, and before our next issue the debate on the Address ought to have concluded. it is believed that the Queen's Speech will contain few projects of legislation, but the Opposition promise that the Session shall be a stormy one. It will probably be distinguished by noise, for it will be the last Session of this Par- liament, and each Member, especially if he sits for an Irish seat, will want to make himself visible to his con- stituents ; but there may be less hard fighting than is expected. It is very difficult for Members with an election close at hand to reject popular measures, and electors do not resent, as party leaders do, having the legislative bread taken out of their mouths. The grant of Local Self-government to Ireland is, for example, to our minds, inopportune ; but neither Tory nor Radical will quite like to tell his constituents that he flung out a measure which to the average Englishman seems merely a reasonable and proper concession. We anti- cipate, therefore, bitter but useless debates on abstract resolu- tions, and small proposals looking philanthropic, but no solid resistance to the Ministry. Sessions, however, we admit, are much like children. They "turn out" for themselves.
