Sir Stafford Northcote's address to the electors of North Devon
is a very different, and rather humble document. He praises the present Parliament, as having " upheld the honour of "the country, and vindicated its claim to its proper rank and influence among the nations of the world, throughout a period of no common difficulty and anxiety." He smiles at " the cap- tious criticism " lavished on it both within and without its walls. " Its foreign, its colonial, and its domestic policy have all been animated by the same spirit." It has steadfastly maintained and strengthened the unity of the Empire, and especially of our great empire in India. It has earnestly striven " to advance the true interests of Ireland," while " re- sisting proposals, however plausible, tending to weaken, or even to dissolve, the ties " between Ireland and Great Britain. Further, its financial policy had been sober and moderate, not one to exaggerate the difficulties of a time of great depression, but one which, in spite of that depression, had diminished the National Debt by £18,000,000, and kept the country out of a European war. In short, Sir Stafford's address keeps away from the tender points in dispute, and on the remainder is mild, childlike, and bland.
