Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, speaking at a Unionist demon- stration at
Andover on Wednesday, admitted that the by-elections were ominous to the Government ; but, on the other hand, he said that the Gladstonian leaders, though they expected success at the General Election, were evidently not at all in love with their prospective task. As far as their action in the House of Commons went, he never saw an Opposition "so incapable and so apathetic." "They were inside the House a flabby, inefficient, and inert party, and did not seem able to collect themselves for anything like united or vigorous attack." He ascribed this to the very un- scrupulous use they had made of all kinds of promises, which could never be performed, in order to win the by-electienr. That is a very just comment on the situation. The Glad- stonians have promised something like impossibilities, and are beginning to get nervous at the prospect of being asked to redeem those promises. The bills they have endorsed are rapidly running out, and they do not know how they are to get them renewed. That, however, does not trouble Sir William Harcourt, who, in his amusing speech at the National Liberal Club on Thursday, likened Lord Salisbury's Mansion House speech to the address of a director of a Company with no dividend to declare. But, after all, it is not so awkward to have no dividend in the way of popularity, as it is to have a large dividend in the way of popularity for a policy which you perfectly well know to be impracticable, though the failure to give effect to it is certain to lead to angry dis- appointment.
Previous page
