Mr. Chamberlain made a very diverting speech on Wednes- day,
on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Birmingham and Edgbaston Debating Society. He recalled the days when he and his friends in that Society had "surveyed mankind from China to Peru," and had settled all sorts of questions offhand without the smallest hesitation. "Then we declared war without the slightest regard to the Concert of Europe. We could do so in safety, for we made peace on our own terms. We passed measures which unaccountably, up to the present time even, have not received the assent of the Legislature. And we were prepared at a moment's notice to pronounce on the merits of any individual, however eminent, and to discuss the truth of any doctrine, however abstruse. Was there, can there have been at this time about us, any of the presumption of youth ? I know not, but I do honestly believe that we had at that time some of its virtues, and some of its charm In our case the prevalent Liberalism of our time occasionally landed us in difficulties, since we could not always find a sufficiency of speakers to defend more moderate opinions ; and remember on one occasion when we were unable to agree as to the disposal of a surplus of 27 odd, which the treasurer unexpectedly disclosed to us, that we unanimously approved the suggestion of the honorary secretary—whom I see before me, and whom I now know as Mr. Alderman Johnson—that we should buy a Tory with it." Tories now are not so scarce, but then what modern Toryism has to defend is not nearly so selfish or so bad as it was then. Liberal Unionism, at all events, is conservative chiefly of healthy national instincts and a generous temper.
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