There is a certain improvement in the tone of some
of the Conservative speeches,—though we cannot include Lord George Hamilton, who only translates Lord Randolph Churchill into rather more Parliamentary language. Sir Hardinge Giffard, however, speaking at Lowestoft on Wednesday, was much more temperate than in his previous speeches, and made two remarks of some interest. Commenting on Sir Wilfrid Lawson's asser- tion that our Empire had always been the better for its disin- tegration, he said that this reminded him of the lines,- " My wound is great, because it is so small." " Then 'twould be greater, were it none at all."
If the Empire gains by every disintegration, what will it be when it is all in pieces ? And no doubt the remark really applies to any disintegration affecting the two Islands in which the centre of British power must always rest. Sir Hardinge Giffard's next proposal, to care the evil of the Irish reluctance to find persons guilty of agrarian crimes, by bringing the accused to England, and there trying them, is much more doubtful. No step would be regarded as a greater insult to Ireland, and nothing can be more undesirable than to irritate Ireland without the most overwhelming political reason. Is the reason in this case adequate ? How many convictions should we obtain by such a. process ? The real difficulty is in getting the evidence, and after bringing the prisoners and witnesses over here at great inconvenience, we should find, in nine cases out of ten, that no evidence sufficient to convict was forthcoming.
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