Lord Salisbury made a speech at the Mansion House on
Tues- -day, in favour of Lady Bective's movement for forcing the fabrics made out of English wools and woollens into fashion. He ad- mitted that the purchase of these things was greatly determined ibr fashion, but he thought that the will might influence fashion, or even, if necessary, set fashion at defiance, in a good cause.' And it was a good cause to diminish the distress of English agri- -culture by increasing the demand for English wool, and the dis- tress of English manufactures by increasing the demand for English woollens. Well, we quite admit that if the real rulers of fashion were to introduce even the practice of carrying about a light poker, English ironmongery might profit ; and that if the poker were a substitute for a Lyons parasol, our ironmongery might profit itself at the expense of France. But is it not of the very essence of fashion to follow its own caprices, and not the promptings of any forlorn interest ? As for setting fashion at defiance, that is done often enough already ; but then, unfor- tunately, it is done by those who are not fashionable, and not by those who are. In this matter, Lord Salisbury is evidently setting out on another fool's errand, and one of a very similar kind to that on which he embarked when he made his speech last year in favour of retaliatory duties on foreign manufactures. The owners of the woollens and the wool will do more for them- selves by improving the quality of their goods, than by whining for aid from fashionable caprice.
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