THE GNAT AND THE CAMEL, BY SIR ROBERT PEEL.
THE philosophy of the Conservative leader is as flimsy as his jokes are ponderous. For example, in the debate on Tuesday he said- " But the noble lord (John Russell) was shocked at his (Sir Robert Peel's) proposed appointment of Commissioners. That the noble lord should pretend that there was danger in the Crown appointing Commissioners, whose govern- ment had been conducted throughout by the intervention of Commissioners! ( Opposition cheers.) Who was it that appointed Commissioners to take charge of the Your-laws? Who was it that proposed to take from the local Magistracy the whole of the Turnpike trusts, and vest the trusts in Commis- sioners appointed by the Crown ? For the noble lord, who had swallowed the windmill of the Poor-laws, and was about to swallow the windmill of the Turn- pike•trusts, to be choked by a pound of this fresh Irish butter, did appear to hint to be straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel."
How very amusing ! Was there ever a more appropriate, a neater metaphor, than " this pound of fresh Irish butter ?" How brightly dues it illustrate the principle of centralization as adopted by the witty Baronet in his Tory plan of Irish Municipal Re- form ! Then observe his clear perception of the different cases under which centralization is requisite and mischievous. How plainly he sees that certain operations of government, such as the carriage of letters and the administration of a uniform poor- law, require a central authority ; while others, such as the bring- ing home of justice to every man's door, and the local government of towns, call for the exercise of a ltical authority ! What has come to the Standard, that it does not dwell on this brilliant dis- play of its " wise legislator and profound statesman ?"
Seriously, the Conservative leader is good at nothing but plau- sible claptraps for the party exigencies of the moment. He can see neither backwards nor forwards, nor on either side, beyond the very narrow circle of his own object at the time of speaking. Could he have looked back, he would have seen that the " gnat and the camel " is really an apt illustration of his own conduct, who, after swallowing the admission of Irishmen into the Legislature, strains at allowing them to manage the lighting of their own towns.
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