And at the same meeting, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, though more
prudent about Free-trade, was at least as violent in his Toryism as Mr. Bright was in his Liberalism, when dealing with the subject of the Irish land. "When Mr. Bright," said. Sir Michael Beach, "went on to say that the Irish land question was one that required dealing with with a stronger hand. and more desperate determination, these words appear to me to be almost reckless in their wickedness." Sir Michael Beach holds that Mr. Bright must know—as, of course, he does—the existence of a violent anti-rent agitation in Ire- land, and that these words of his will add. fuel to the fire. But surely this last assumption of Sir Michael Beach's is itself recklessly wanton. The Irish agitation does show that the Irish land question is still unsettled, and needs dealing with with a stronger hand. But there is nothing in such a statement either to encourage the deliberate breach of regular contracts, or to palliate the wickedness of violent threats.
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