The Conservatives are taking every opportunity of humi- liating the
Government. Scotland and Ireland being anxioua to appeal to the same Court as England, the Govern- ment removed the clauses exempting them from the Judica- ture Bill ; but Mr. Disraeli made a long speech, which seemed to threaten that he would use his majority in the Lords- to postpone the Bill,—not a bad opportunity for a Dissolu- tion. On Friday week Sir J. Coleridge also had to secure the- passage of his Juries' Bill by throwing out all its distinctive features, giving up the composite clause, retaining the magical number twelve, and still insisting on unanimity. He acknowledged that in his proposed changes he stood alone, and is perhaps aware- by this time that the English electorate on such subjects as this is the most pig-headed in the world. If he had copied the Scotch plan he might have succeeded, Englishmen understanding Scotchmen, but a new scheme was altogether too much for them.. Like Sir Rainald Knightley, who declared parishes to be the natural divisions of counties, they considered twelve the natural number to hang people by.
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