The last evening of debate in the Commons,—Thursday evening,—was somewhat
sad-coloured. First, Mr. Grissell, who surrendered to the Serjeant-at-Arms so soon as there were but two days left of the Session, was ordered. to Newgate for the remaining twenty-four hours of the Session,—after which he must be liberated till Parliament meets again. After that, Mr. Grant Duff, in moving for more Afghan papers, reviewed the Treaty of Gandamak, and showed, in a very cogent speech, that the Afghan war had saddled us with a host of new obligations and expenses, without giving us so good a position in India as we had before. Sir 0. Campbell, Mr. Stanhope, Lord Hartington, and Sir Stafford Northcote were the only other speakers, and in a skeleton House of course there was no great spirit in the debate. But Sir Stafford Northeote's speech, as we have else- where shown, was important, as well as quite inconsistent with Lord. Beaconsfield's declaration as to the "scientific frontier." The war is now admitted to mean that for the future, Afghani- stan is to be made instrumental to the warding-off of Russian aggression, and that we are to pay, to do, and to suffer, whatever may be necessary to keep it up as an efficient breakwater against Russia.
