Mr. Bass, M.P. for Derby, made a speech at Chatham
on Mon- day full of political and personal optimism. " Great men died, but great men arose again." He " was the head of the largest business in the world." He believed in the new Cabinet. He wanted nothing of Ministers except to drink his beer, but he thought that Earl Russell had performed great services, and Sir George Grey was " well acquainted with public affairs," and Mr. Cardwell was a " man of great ability," and Sir Charles Wood tad struggled for free trade, and Mr. Lowe was a man of " con- summate ability." Evidently beer does Mr. Bass good. His personal optimism is quite justifiable, for he is the only man in the kingdom whose name has been admitted into the language as a noun-substantive expressing a form of goodness, but politically his statement that our form of government always brings the best men to the top is a little too genial. It always brings them, if the best and ablest happen to have good blood, long purses, the power of speech, and seats in the House of Commons, not else. Mr. Gladstone is a partial exception, and if Mr. Glad- stone were a Cavendish, or possessed 50,0001. a year, he would now be Premier.
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