Lord Derby delivered a remarkable address to the Manchester Liberal
Club on Wednesday, declaring that in joining the Liberal Party he had made no leap in the dark, but had taken a step long and carefully considered, and that once taken, it will not be retracted. It is, indeed, clear from his speech that Lord Derby considers the Liberal Party the true Conservative party too; that he regards the disposition on the part of the rich and educated to adopt the popular cause, so far as it can be shown to be consistent with the public welfare, as the best possible guarantee against revolutionary violence, and for the rights of property and the freedom of thought. He thought it a remark- able thing that the present Government, after nearly three years of heavy trial, is now stronger than ever in public favour, and that the General Election of 1880 produced no greater Liberal triumph than a general election if taken now would pro- duce. "That is only saying in other words," said Lord Derby, in that happy, depreciating tone which gains adherents by making light of deserts, " that the Government is doing the work which the country wants done." Lord Derby only excused the Egyptian war on the ground that the French reluctance to use force and the subsequent withdrawal of France had en- couraged Arabi to offer a resistance which to Franco and England united lie certainly would not have offered. And for the Irish Land Act, he apologised, on the ground that it was essential to paralyse the Land League by giving security of tenure to the farmers. On both subjects he evidently wished to minimise as well the significance of what had been done, as the need for supple- menting or completing it.
Previous page
