While there is a slight relaxation in the onward advance
of candidates for Parliamentary seats about the country, London City has roused itself to deliberate activity ; and, instead of ex- hibiting, like the provinces, a mitigation of party distinctions, displays even a more formal array of party opponents than it has done for some years. Mr. Lyall and Mr. Masterman retire: both are moderate Conservatives, of the Peel class. The Liberals ad- vance two new candidates—Sir George Larpent and Baron Lionel de Rothschild ; men who by repute, and by their addresses, will be more inclined to work for the material improvement of the country than for mere party objects. The Conservative As- sociation is to put forth its four candidates, and boasts of undi- minished strength. It seems probable, however, that its strength is likely to be diminished by the whole number of such men, Conservative but also commercial in feeling, who were fitly represented by Mr. Lyall and Mr. Masterman ; men who would not very strongly repudiate the representation of a Larpent or a Rothschild, but would scarcely like to sacrifice material ,objects to the merely factious views of an obsolescent and decaying party like the Tories. We say "Tories," because the Conservative party was formed by Sir Robert Peel in the view of uniting the traditional prestige and administrative expe- rience of the old Tory party with cautious but effectual advance in material improvement; and those who secede from him revert to the position of the Tories. Your City man, however, acts very much on established practice and old associations ; when not , guided by set rule, he is swayed by mere vague sentiment. As , we saw lately, there is no place for quickness of feeling like the Stock Exchange. A drove of pigs is nothing to it ; though pigs are wayward, and do squeak at small trifles. Therefore we should not like to predict what the City may or may not do. If the Conservative candidates were to talk about the con- stitution and George the Third—were to take their stand upon resisting the Sanatory Bill Administration, and upon the Corn-laws of the "good old England," "merry old England," which they used to see so happy in the stage afterpiece of ROthla and other " operas " of their childhood—and were to procure bands that could stand before their committee- rooms incessantly playing "The roast beef of old England" and "Hearts of oak,"—we should not wonder if a spell were cast over the sensitive City, and, dreaming, it were return four good old Tories. We should not like to predict the impossibility of such a result in a place so prone to dramatic surprises. The prophetic Standard, indeed, is quite prepared for a very different dramatic surprise. It declares that the election of Baron Lionel de Rothschild is impossible; but in a manner that shows the adjective to be the expression of fear rather than con- viction. Rothschild cannot be elected because he is an "alien." And his election, we are told, would be shocking : to prefer him '" because he is a Jew," is, "to the eye of common sense, a prac- tical renunciation of the church of Christ, and a daring act of hostility, against the Divine head of that church." It is evi- dently feared that the City will be to Judaism what Clare was to ,Romanism; which is not unlikely. Religious grounds, too, are taken by other opponents of Minis- ters: the Nonconformists have issued a circular calling upon their ;body to " protest " against what they pleasantly call a "feature" of the moribund Parliament,--meaning the Education scheme. But they modestly abstain from dictating the manner and degree in which the electors are to protest against the feature ; so that the 'electors have a wide choice, from a harmless expression of dislike to a hostile vote. Opportunely enough, out comes Dr. Chalmers's posthumous declaration in favour of actually separating religious from secular instruction' a proposition which goes far beyond the "feature," and is likely to have considerable weight with the re- ligious public. It seems probable that this influential declaration will not only cover the "feature" with the se& of protection, but will altogether put the Nonconformist nose out of joint; ena- bling the Education movement to start from a much more ad- vanced stage in the new Parliament. The electors should have an eye to that probability. To elect men for the purpose of re- sisting education, would be as idle as to elect men for the purpose of resisting the march of time. It is evident that the most im- portant questions with which the next Parliament will have to deal are as yet scarcely before the public : we have but the signs of their approach. The men wanted will be those capable of handling such subjects, like that of education, with earnest- ness and wisdom—to wit, able and honest men.
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