The Liberal demonstration at Manchester yesterday week and on Saturday
was hold by one even of the newspapers which strongly support the Government, to indicate more enthusiasm than that which the Conservatives had got up there in the pre- vious week. "It appeared," says the Times, "to be a larger gathering than that which was witnessed at the same place on occasion of Lord Salisbury's visit the week before." "The Liberal muster began earlier in the day, caused a much greater increase of street traffic, on wheels especially, and required a longer time, after the delivery of the speeches, for the difficult process of dispersal." As the Times' bias is strongly in the direction of the Government, and its criticism of Lord Hartingtou's Friday's speech was thoroughly hostile, we suppose this to be impartial evidence. Lord Hartington on the Friday did not speak after a banquet, like Lord Salisbury, but delivered his speech in reply to an address from 249 of the Liberal Clubs and Associations of Lan- cashire, in his usual calm and unexcited manner ; and yet the enthusiasm which his very sober, though very strong and sensible, speech elicited, was as great as the heartiest Liberal could desire. As an orator, Lord Hartington does not, of course, approach Lord Salisbury, so that we may very fairly credit an even larger proportion of the enthusiasm with which he was greeted to the sincere devotion of his great audience for the principles he so strongly and calmly laid down.
