Mr. Leathara delivered on Tuesday, at Huddersfield, a very long,
very amusing, and exceedingly bitter speech. He gave the Government no quarter, declaring that it was "the flogger of the soldier, the surrenderer of the slave, and the accomplice of the Turk." It is great only on foreign policy, "which is a safe thing, like being great on foreign exchanges." It is "a sound-the-trumpets -beat-the -drums Administra- tion," but has not often to play, "See, the conquering hero comes." It "orders glasses of glory all round," and then slips out without paying the bill. It is a Govern- ment not of scientific frontiers, but of "scientific effrontery." It has made Russia larger, and South Africa more dangerous, while in Afghanistan it has created a situation the only outlet from which is the annexation of a country "as large as France, as wild as Switzerland, and as turbulent as hell,"—a remark which is probably unjust to hell, where an absolute Aineer reigns ; and is certainly unjust to Switzerland, which is -a trim garden, compared with Afghanistan. Ho denounced all -the recent wars equally, and held that we ought to have brought aid to the struggling Christian populations of Turkey, instead of helping to betray them. Mr. Leathern did not propose any course to be taken now, and we note his speech chiefly to record that the more bitter the censure the louder rose the applause, and that the resolution of confidence was carried enthusiasti- cally, between 2,000 and 3,000 people voting for it, and only four or five against it. The mass vote in Huddersfield is not for Government.
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