A retecRraM which we published some time since, and other telegrams in American newspapers, have told us that Mr. Gladstone made a speech at Wrexham and was greatly interrupted when doing so. The interruption must have been an unwelcome novelty to him, for he has been accustomed to have everything he chose to say received with enraptured acquiescence by delighted and undiscriminating audiences, And to be compelled to shut the flood-gates of his eloquence in " Gallant little Wales," of all places in the world, must have been peculiarly startling. There are Tories in Wales, but being a despised ple, and comparatively few in num-it was not likely they would venture into the camp of their enemies and howl down their great leader. But the papers we have received by the German mail give us, not the storm at Wrexham itself, but the prelimin-any mutterings of it. At Wrexham the Eisteddfod, dear to Welshmen, was to be held and Mr. Gladstone promised to visit it. Of course the Eisteddfod, like a Monday Popular concert or a Highland Meeting, has hitherto been altogether free of politics, at all events while the audience remained sober. We should guess, that as happens in other parts of the United Kingdom, the benighted Tory
expenses connected with the annual landlords pay the greater part of the Exhibition of Welsh harping, and that the enlightened Liberal commonalty enjoy the music at but little expense to their own pockets. It occurred however to the Wrexham Liberal Association that Mr. Gladstone should improve the occasion of his visit, and their finances, by delivering political address. Mr.
Gladstone delightedly accepted. the vitation and the Liberal Association at once began selling tickets of admission. Thereupon some Welsh Tories and others in whom the sense of the fitness of things was not altogether destroyed, broke out into remonstrances. Atel to the Committee of the Eisteddfod from its Chairman created, we are told, t commotion in. North Wales. That gentleman said I subscribed to the Eisteddfod, believing it would be as it has always hitherto been, entirely non-political. I now find it will be otherwise on the present occasion, and I therefore withdraw my name and support, and decline to take the Chair on Tuesday evening. I hope the Committee as a body will retire, leaving to those to whom it belongs the responsibility for breaking up this year's celebration of a National Institution." Protests against his delivering a_political speech while on his visit to Wrexham, during the Eisteddfod, were poured into Hawarden and drew forth a letter from Mr. Gladstone. In this letter he said that he had made an arrangement with Sir E. Watkin to go by railway to Wrexham and have some luncheon there. Out of this "his suggested railway treat" grew a proposal that he should go to the Eisteddfod. Out of this proposal grew another, that having plenty of time at Wrexham he should spend it in making @ political speech and having promised a political speech, he could not break his promise, consequently it was out of his power to settle the matter. This Metter did not improve things; there were people who wrote and' spoke of it as being a very fine example of the master's art of avoiding the main issue, which in this case was—would he or would he not give a political speech, Nothing came of this letter; North Wales waxed more excited, and two Gladstonians were obliged to go to Yhey did not succeed probably they did Hawarden to try and arrange matters.
not try to get Mr. Gladstone to give up his speech, but they arranged a change in the programme at Wrexham. That this did not smooth away the excitement and bad feeling which had raged in North Wales for some days, we know from the report of the disturbances which took place at the meeting on the day after the mail left England.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.