Tus hold which Mr. Gladstone has over the English people is one of the most curious phenomena of our time, and so far as we know it has heretofore defied analysis. Some day, perhaps, the Spectator may explain the matter, but in the meantime we must be content to mark, without understanding, the relationship between Mr, Gladstone and his people. The original grounds of the people's worship were believed to be the high morality professed by Mr. Gladstone in contrast with the mundane aims of his great rival Lord Beaconsfield, who appealed to "British interests" as a factor in his policy. The tro mon came to occupy the places in the people's mind respectively of the Spirit of Good and the Spirit of Evil; the Angel of Light and the Angel of Darkness; Ormuzd and Abrimau. That ie perfectly natural and in accordance with party principle, But what is peouliar in the ease la the way in which the people stick to the worship of their god after his fine gold has become dim. Common men who have no particular insight into spiritual matters, and who judge phenomena in the superficial manner in which the business of human life must necessarily be carried on, see in Mr, Gladstone a man who has miscalculated all the political forces arrayed against him outside the can has entered on serious enterprise out Laving an idea what he was about, and who when brought to bay faces all ways and manipulates language into any form that may suit him, with a grand superiority to the rale to that end made and provided in the Decalogue and the Church Catechism. His colleagues in the Government, following 80 illustrious an example, have got into way of prevarication such as has never been heard of in public life before, To such a pass has this come that no statement made by any English Minister is believed; when they asseverate and swear by all their gods that they will not, that is now understood to be the thing they will most certainly do. Whether the subject be Egypt, Africa, the Navy, the Army, Rus-or whatever else in question, their words conceal their thoughts and belie their actions, The English people havenotyet completely mastered this new lesson in political morality, battle statesmen of the Continent and even of Asia know it well. Consequently, when Mr. Gladstone and Lord Granville were blustering about fighting Rassia, and making ostentatious preparations everywhere, the only people deceived were Mr. Gladstoue's people. Russia was laughing in her sleeve all the while, and the statesmen of Berlin looked on with an amassed leer. They knew from the first, and said so, that there would be no war. They knew one or other of the contending parties would capitu-Into, and they knew it would not be Russia, The treatment of allies by the present English Government is treachery and desertion. Even Easterns who know little of the mysteries of Western morality sum up Mr. Gladstone in the one word " unreliable."
Falsehood and treachery are strong applied such terms tony English statesman ten years ago would have exposed the person using them to a suspicion of mania. Now, however, we cannot read a page of that outspoken journal the Pall Mall Gazette, Gladstonian to the sewing of its back, without seeing these charges made against the Cabinet collectively and individually, and no one dreams of contradicting or being shocked by them.
As is well known, the real strength of Mr, Gladstone is among the Dissenters, and it is to them therefore that we must go to learn the deep devotion of his followers, a devotion which proof alike against the abuse of enemies and the candour of friends. The special organ of this largo and influenhal portion of the English people, the per. The description given of itbya Cann dian journal very competent to form a judgment is,—" For strong, manly, scholarly, and Christian journalism, our contemporary has few peers, certain. ly no superiors." The Noncenformist's Confession of Faith in Mr, Gladstone is as followe:—" The Prime Minister has inspired Liberals generally, audNonoon= formistsin particular, w fidence in himself that approaches idolatry, It has hitherto been so unreserved and unhesitating that they have regarded him as an apostle of pence even when he was waging war. Africa in flames, and Afghanistan flourishing in the face of Russia the sword of honour pre" sented by the Gladstone Government, have been accepted implicitly as a con. sistent development of Midlothian aug. gestions as to the reversal of the policy of Lord Beaconsfield." And agaiv,—"Wo have not the slightest doubt that each step taken in Bgypt, in South Afrion, and in Afghanistan, has been dictated by a genuine anxiety to avert the natural consequence of Lord Beaconsfield's aggressiveness." An unregenerate soul might be tempted to enquire what the natural consequences of Lord Beaoousfield's aggressiveness could have been that required such doings as have been dono in Egypt to avert them. The principles of policy of the Non= conformist, when stated in the abstract, do not appear to differ much from the 8 of more worldly men, For ple: "There are some things which we all recognise as placed by their very nature above and beyond discussion, such as that we mast keep faith with allies." So long as a country can be governed in the abstract, there would not apparently be much to quarrel about, Where the divergence of view appears is when the principles come to be applied to concrete oases, the Russians were 1,000 miles from Herat, no doubt the Noncomformist would maintain the ancient right of Leo Britaunious to erect his tail at the mere mention of an attack on India; but now that the Bu are at the gate of Herat, the dissenting voice of England says, "When we hear that Herat is the 'Key of India' it may be well to remember Lord Beaconsficld's dictum,—'The keys of India are in London.'" Asto India itself, says the Nonconformist, "it is a costly burden to England, It was made the pretext for our occupation of Egypt, it has now placed us in antagonism to Russia, from which no present compromise will in fature shield as;"—" therefore," the severe logician will continue, "perish India with all her rajahs and her ryots, her zemindars and ber kubardars, her brandy-pawnee and her hooch perwarre." But the logician would be wrong. The Nonconformist, at all events, does not go that length.
The keynote of all is the ineffable goodness of Mr. Gladstone, which, even when obscured by deeds which on na principle of publio-or private morality
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.