Of course Mr. Gladstone's mildness, and the bitter dis- appointment
of the Radicals, have given rise to many political rumours. We were told on Thursday that, according to the information received by the Unionist leaders, there would probably be a Dissolution within four or five weeks, and that as Mr. Gladstone did not intend to contest Mid- lothian again, Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael had agreed to hold himself in readiness to canvass the constituency on behalf of the party who support Home-rule and the Newcastle programme. But on Friday we were warned that Mr. Gladstone had come to no resolution to retire from the Midlothian seat, and that the nomination of Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael is only provisional and precautionary in case Mr. Gladstone's health should not admit of a renewal of his candidature. Of course, all these rumours are of a very hypothetical character, nor do we count at present on a Dissolution within the next few weeks. Both Sir William Harcourt's action and Mr. Gladstone's point to the wish to accumulate many more grievances against the Lords before inviting the verdict of the country.
