The home news not only sinks to insignificance before the
intel- ligence from our distant armies, but is in itself unusually meagre and stale this week. The old heads are kept up,—increasing desti- tution in Paisley; the strike in Ayrshire ; Anti-Corn-law agitation at Manchester and Liverpool, (where, by the by, Mr. COBDEN made one of his best speeches) : and a Conservative convert to the PEEL Free Trade, Mr. Escorr, has been exhorting farmers, at Ilminster, to patience under the new Tariff and Corn-law, and to manly independent exertion ; and very good sense he spoke, so far as it goes. At Manchester, the manufacturers have met in their capacity of inhabitants and traders in Cheshire and Lancashire to support themselves in their capacity of Anti-Corn-law Leaguers ; and they have granted themselves very liberal subsidies towards the 50,000/. fund, which begins to make way. The Scottish Church question has been a little revived by the meeting of the Commission of the General Assembly, and by the new irregular Convocation of Nonintrusion ministers; but the Convocation have kept their proceedings secret, and the Commission have made their proceedings very trite.
Perhaps the newest thing at home this week is what we set out with—the revival of the old Tory custom of tiring guns and ringing bells for victory. The display is not quite so imposing as it used to be : and chiefly for two reasons,—that the papers let everybody know every thing many hours before the Government machinery of information can be brought into play, so that everybody could have told the Park and Tower guns all about the victories long before the said guns told the people ; and because people have begun to have misgivings as to the perfect morality and wisdom of all war- like victories. The best part of that matter of technical rejoicing is the rumour that there is to be a holyday : any excuse may fairly serve for one additional holyday to this overworked people.
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