Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman was the principal speaker at a Liberal
meeting at Ayr on Wednesday. He touched on the problems connected with the war, complimented Lord Kitchener on his diplomatic successes, and cordially applauded Mr. Chamberlain's decision to visit South Africa. But the greater part of his speech was devoted to the Education Bill, in which Sir Henry saw a "very determined effort to oust direct popular representation," predicting that Scotland's turn would come next, and that the same cultured and superior persona who had "slaughtered" the English School Boards would attempt to rob the Scotch of theirs. As regards the debates in the House, the conscience of the Opposition was perfectly clear. He had never heard any one speaking against time, and if the Government adhered to their threat to guillotine the Bill. divide it into compartments, and carry it without full discussion, it would be perhaps the most monstrous thing they bad ever done. We note that Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman observed that though they might carry amendments to the Bill, all was at the mercy of the House of Lords. "How many sons of Peers," he continued," are there in the corn mon schools? And, by the strange fatuity and iniquity of our electoral laws, every one of this library class, as I should call them, has his vote double, treble, quadruple, and quintuple ; whereas, on the other hand, the parent of the school child has but one bare vote in virtue of his citizenship."
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