Lord Salisbury's speech at Sheffield on Tuesday was, in the
main, a reply to the great demonstration of Monday, which he called "legislation by picnic." He treated this great manifesta- tion of popular feeling with the utmost contempt, and declared that it was not for one of the Houses of the Legislature to regard the streets as expressing the mind of the country. No one ever said it was. But as Lord Salisbury will not regard the regularly elected Commons as expressing the mind of the country, the streets naturally have something to say, and at least 60,000 persons have more right to speak for the country than some three hundred and sixty private persons, who do not even affect to express anyone's opinion but their own. Lord Salisbury accused Mr. Gladstone of having sacrificed a great many useful measures simply to express his wrath, as a domestic tyrant will sometimes destroy the household crockery when things do not go according to his mind. No one, however, knows better than Lord Salisbury that when you have to- ask for an early autumn Session, it is quite impossible, how- ever well disciplined parties may be, to keep them hard at work to the end of August. The measures sacrificed were sacri- ficed, not to Mr. Gladstone's petulance, of which he has shown no trace, but to the exigencies of an autumn Session. Mr. Chaplin, who spoke after Lord Salisbury, thought little of the demonstration of Monday, apparently because of its good- humour. If it had shown ill-humour, what would he have thought of it then ?
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