Lord Salisbury made a speech at Watford on Wednesday, and
the Duke of Devonshire on the same day spoke at Leeds, both to the same general effect. Lord Salisbury, however, though he admitted that the Protectionists had been quite wrong in opposing the repeal of the Corn-laws, thought that their opponents had been wrong in ridiculing so positively the fears entertained by the country party that the sweeping- away of Protection would prove almost a death-blow to English agriculture,—a presentiment which had been fulfilled, though not till after some considerable delay. Lord Salisbury thought that if the Free-trade party had been forced to consider fully these dangers, they would have been obliged to make some remission of the burdens on land at the time when they were admitting foreign corn to compete freely with English. He went on to say that Lord Rosebery's Government received such a crushing defeat at the last Elections, not only because the people were sick of their elaborate programme, but also because they were tired of the constant pottering with the electoral machinery of the country, and wished to see the best use made of the machine as we now have it. He thought a new political era was at hand, when the people would insist on seeing our representative institutions used for the ameliora- tion of the social condition of the masses, instead of having them sent for further repairs the moment after the last repairs had been completed.
Previous page
