The Gladstonian party held a not very successful kind of
revel on Wednesday at the National Liberal Club, when the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer both spoke ; but Lord Rosebery was far from well, and with diffi- culty concluded his speech, while Sir William Harcourt made merry over the failure of the Opposition to deliver a death- blow to the Government, after a fashion which did not indicate much hope that the catastrophe would be long delayed. Lord Rosebery began by assuring the company that they were dancing on "something surer than a volcano ; " but when in the middle of his speech he came to a standstill on the return of some of his nervous symptoms,—though he gallantly struggled with and conquered them,—the company did not feel very confident that the ground beneath them was not at least undermined. He concluded, too, with a renewed summons to his followers to sweep away the obstruction of the House of Lords, a summons which, proceeding as it did from pale lips and an exhausted frame, showed more gal- lantry than wisdom. Sir William Harcourt attributed the great reduction in the majority of the Government to the de- sertion of the Parnellites; but that at least was not the explanation of the small majority of 13 which had been recorded only that afternoon for the repeal of the Irish Crimes Act, for which the Irish party voted in a solid mass. This must have been due to the indifference of Gladstonians. Sir William Harcourt was very angry with his opponents for charging the Government with "clinging to Office," but he did not deny that they do cling to Office, and that not for the purpose of carrying useful measures, but solely for that of 'airing" them, and airing the dislike of the Lords to those measures. This they have a perfect right to do, but there is no great glory in doing it.
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