Parliament is to reassemble on next Thursday week (6th February),
when the address will be moved in the Commons by the Hon. C. J. Lyttelton (M.P. for East Worcestershire), and seconded by Mr. Stone, M.P. for Portsmouth. If we may judge by a letter from Mr. Bright to the Birmingham meeting of Thursday last,—and Mr. Bright is commonly said to be deep in the secrets of the Administration,—the Session is not likely to be a striking one. "There are two questions," he says, " that are probably too large to be undertaken with any degree of completeness in the last years of a Parliament. I allude to the state of the county representation and of the land question." " County representation" means, we suppose, household suffrage in the counties, and not the new County Finance Measure ; so that that measure at least will be dealt with, and no doubt, the Irish University question also, but if Mr. Bright can be trusted, the Ministry are not sanguine. Mr. Bright adds that the question of the reduction of expenditure needs " resolute handling," but he intimates a doubt whether the present Govern- ment will be able to grapple with it, from which he infers only that the interests which oppose economy are very powerful. No doubt, and are not some of them also very wise and very dis- interested,--are they not some of them, in short, public interests opposed to a false economy, not selfish private interests opposed to a true? However, the Ministers evidently expect and pro- bably hope for a dull session. But the Unexpected is pretty sure to happen.
