The last night of the debate, Monday, was opened by
Mr. Monsell in the dull and cautious, but fortunately short speech, of a Roman Catholic ex-official treading on delicate ground, and not quite comfortable as to the disposition of the priesthood with .regard to the proffered Catholic University. He was followed by Mr. Butler-Johnstone, who proposed to confute Mr. Mill out of his own book with regard to the land tenure, and assured the House that peasant proprietorship answered in the Rhine pro- vinces because the culture of the vine was suited to that kind of holding ; in Belgium because there were large cities to buy the produce and carry off the surplus population ; in India for some other reason unstated (probably specially connected with rice), and, in a word, that the one place where of all others it could never answer was Ireland. " What might be true of those on the banks of the Ganges and the Hooghly would be utterly untrue of those on the banks of the Shannon and the Boyne." After this eloquent and impressive geographical prophecy, Mr. Butler- Johnstone assailed the Church of Ireland, reproached his own leader, Mr. Disraeli, for " leaving ascendancy untouched, and aggravating the evils of Ultramontanizm." Amidst loud cheers
from the opposite (the Liberal) benches, he declared himself ready to follow any leader who was prepared to deal adequately and effectively with the Irish Church.
