The Birmingham Education League has been thundering against the Government
and Mr. Forster this week with some- thing of the old Radical intensity of wrath,—and indeed, has, we are strongly disposed to think, overshot its own mark. The country, with its eyes on the facts, will hardly be induced to go with Sir Charles Dilke in saying that, " One might suppose that the Education Department was presided over by the powers of darkness, instead of by good men like Sir Francis Sandford and Mr. Forster," nor will it see quite so much that is culpable as Sir Charles does in the sin which he goes on to describe thus naively :—" Some old Leaguers used to say to those who were en- gaged with him (Sir C. Dilke) in trying to obtain amendments of the Act, We would be with you upon this clause if the depart- ment were presided over by anybody but Mr. Forster, but you can trust Forster.' Well, they could trust Forster in a sense ; they could trust him to do what he thought right, but that was not what the members of the League thought right, and there was ail the mischief." Mr. Dixon and some of the better of his brother Leaguers must have inwardly replied in the words, "And Balak said unto Balsam, What halt thou done unto me ? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and lo 1 thou halt blessed them altogether."
