A torpid activity is displayed by the public, just enough
to show that it could arouse itself on the occasion of any sufficiently ac- cumulated trouble. The Ministers newly appointed from the House of Commons have to seek reelection at the hands of their constituents ; and the stir among the citizens of London tells Lord John Russell that he ought not in courtesy to consider him- self the colleague of the Baron Lionel de Rothschild, for his elec- tors dream that they are independent, and think that they exer- cise a will of their own. " The war," its misconduct, and the abolition of military promotion by purchase, have been the subjects of meetings in the North of England and in Midland Birmingham; and Mr. Layard has been unfolding to his constituents at Ayles- bury the tale of his shabby treatment by Premiers, past and pre- sent, who offered him place only to retract it. The healthiest action is that of the Law Amendment Society, which has held its annual meeting earlier than usual this year, and has been signal- ized by the ex-Ministerial presence of Sir John Pakington. But law-amendment is of no karty ; and nothing is more cheering than the persevering combination of grave judges and learned lawyers to improve the institutes under which we live.
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