Mr. W. H. Gladstone addressed his constituents at Whitby on
Thurs lay, in a speech which contained one or two important statements. He affirmed that the Premier, whose son and Private Secretary he is, would in no case touch the question of Disestablishing the Church, " which he felt belonged to a new era in politics," while he belonged to an era about to close, but he was quite certain that it was possible to carry out the Elementary Education Act with perfect fairness to Nonconformists, and without giving any undue prepon- derance or advantage to the Established Church. His whole speech was an endeavour to reconcile the two parties, but he leant as natural reconciler to Mr. Bright, "whose eloquent tongue and weighty counsel the Cabinet had regained." Per- sonally, he was unwilling to force secular education on the country " at present," but his own bias, if we may trust the over- brief report, is slightly that way. Mr. W. H. Gladstone may not, however, represent his father in religious opinions, any more than other young men whose general idea is to coincide with the " Governor " whenever he can reasonably get angry, and to he violently opposed to him whenever he must in decency be latitudinarian.
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