The " Cattle-Plague party," that is the Tory members of
the House who most strictly represent the landed interest, called a meeting at the Carlton on Thursday, attended, it is said, by a hundred and fifty members. They differed, it is reported, some- what widely as to the concessions to be made, but agreed that the concessions ought to be put in the Bill, and not extorted by the Opposition ; that Lord Derby should grant all he could, and then stand or fall by his measure. This is honest, at all events, and as Lord Derby does not wish to destroy his party, however he may long to be out of harness, the result of the meeting will have con- siderable influence on affairs. It tends directly to confirm the view expressed in our article on the political prospects, that Lord Derby's real difficulty is with his own party. If they like, Mr. Gladstone can pull him through the quagmire—though only by the hair of the head—but they must consent, and they are jibbing
