On Tuesday Mr. Balfour announced the titles of the Bills
which he has decided cannot be passed this Session. They are sixteen in number, and include the Port of London Bill, the Aliens Bill, the Valuation Bill, and the Scotch Education Bill. The slaughter of the innocents is on a very large scale this year, and several measures of real importance have been sacrificed. The Government allege the obstructive tactics of the Opposition as an excuse, but though no doubt this has been a contributory cause, the chief reasons are (1) that Mr. Balfour was most remiss in the first two months of the Session in introducing and pushing forward new legislation ; and (2) that the Government, when they did come to close quarters with public business, insisted that everything must be sacrificed to securing the safety of the Licensing Bill. That measure has dominated the action of the whole legis- lative machine.
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