In the House of Lords on Thursday Lord Ashbourne intro-
duced the Irish Local Government Bill. Lord Spencer, welcoming the Bill on behalf of the Opposition, managed 'with no little dexterity to "work off" the celebrated quota- tion from Lord Salisbury's Newport speech, in which the present Prime Minister pointed out that it was safer to apply Local Government in large than in small areas. Lord Londonderry, on behalf of the Irish landlords, accepted the Bill,—but with what Dr. Johnson called "frigid equanimity." The risk of the minority being oppressively rated under the Bill was great and had not been sufficiently guarded against. The Duke of Devonshire closed the discussion. He pointed out that though Lord Spencer and Lord Crewe had spoken dis- dainfully and suspiciously of the "grant" made by the Bill, they bad not ventured to assert that it was inequitable, and -declared that Lord Londonderry's fears were exaggerated. No doubt the Bill will be criticised closely in Committee, but the Unionist Peers will make a capital error in policy if they do not pass it practically in its present shape. The measure is, we believe, one which will be really useful to Ireland. It is in no sense a step in the direction of Home-rule, for it is a negation rather than an admission of the plea that Ireland is a separate political entity.
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