"ZEChe Opectator," februarp 15th. 1851
Mr. Disraeli's motion, on the unequal load of taxation borne by the owners and occupiers of land, engaged the House of Commons for two nights. Mr. Disraeli struggled with almost incredible success to subdue his propensity to sarcasm and brilliant antithesis: he was as modest in statement and as con- ciliatory in tone as if in assuming the office of successor to Lord George Bentinck he had' resolved to take Sir Robert Peel for his model. Not but occasional tones of his voice and turns of his sentences suggested a suspicion that this elaborate modera- tion was only external go assumed for the occasion. So long as Mr. Disraeli kept Oiself to the enunciation of general views, he was imposing if not convincing ; whenever he descended to illustrative details, his want of judgement and practical knowledge became painfully apparent. . . . The division was a close one-267 for and 281 against the motion ; a narrow majority, ominous of future complications.
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