THE COMMON PLOUGHMAN.
LTO TILE EDITOR OF TIIIC "SPECTATOR.1
SIR,—" Supply the agricultural labourer with sound premisses and he will reach a sound conclusion," says Mr. Fiennes, writing in the Times of the 24th inst. in extenuation of the Unionist losses in the Election. "Why have they not been supplied with sound premisses P" asks that journal. But is not this query rather hard on Mr. Chamberlain and the rival party organisations who for more than two years have been supplying major and minor premisses, with conclusions to boot ? And may we not gather from the result of the elections that the agricultural labourer has been supplied with sound premisses, and has arrived at sound conclusions ? Mr. Fiennes has himself supplied the answer when he says that the agricultural labourer's mind is "not dense, but shrewd and tenacious, if slow." Adam Smith, who knew a good many things, was of the same opinion. He says : "The common ploughman, though generally regarded as the pattern of stupidity and ignorance, is seldom defective in judgment and discretion "; and "how much the lower ranks of people in the country are really superior to those of the town, is well known to every man whom either business or curiosity has led to converse much with both." We cannot be sufficiently thankful to Mr. Balfour and Mr. Chamberlain for having delayed the Dissolution of Parliament, thus giving time to the agricultural labourer to select the sound premisses and arrive at the sound conclusion. We may, perhaps, be sur- prised that the Protectionist caucus should have taken too little account of the "common ploughman," and of a per- sonage of even more importance where the food of the children is concerned, the ploughman's wife.---I am, Sir,
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