REDISTRIBUTION.
[To THE EDIT011 OF THE " SFECTATOR."I SIE,—You are unsparing in your condemnation of Mr. Balfour- for not having cut down Irish representation by thirty votes. If it was his duty to do this, it must be equally that of the present Radical Government which you so ardently support. Do you think it in the least likely that [The present Government, though they are pledged not to introduce Home-rule legislation in the next Parliament, do not profess and call themselves Unionist, nor are they pledged to do their utmost to support the Union. As Unionists we are, of course, opposed to them on this ground, and any ardour we may have shown in their support is due to the fact that they stand between the country and the adoption of a policy which would ruin the nation and the Empire. But though we do nob suppose for a moment that they will carry out the duty which Mr. Balfour neglected and which they do not regard as a duty, we are satisfied that they are not going to carry Home-rule, and therefore we hold that the country can quite safely use them as a bulwark against the imminent peril of Protection. It would be folly to let our- selves be frightened out of using this bulwark because the Liberals will not also do what Mr. Balfour would not do,—i.e., do justice to England and reduce the over-representation of Ireland. It appears that we are to have the over-representa- tion of Ireland in any case. That being so, we would far rather have it plus Free-trade than plus Protection.—En. Spectator.]
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