Sir Stafford Northcote was very bland and frank. He regarded
the fact that fresh primroses are frequently laid at the base of Lord Beaconsfield's statue as absolute proof of the pro- found love of Londoners for that statesman's memory. He attributed Mr. Gla,dstone's triumph at the poll to Mr. Glad- stone's ability and unscrupulousness, by which he had produced on the mind of the people an impression as strong as it was ° utterly false." He pretended to be quite unable to under- stand how a Government that has spent five and a half millions more than its predecessor, though it has employed (say) fifteen millions more than its predecessor in the payment of debt, could be said to have been thriftier than its predecessor; and he confided to his Conservative friends his belief that Parlia- mentary obstruction, under proper circumstances, is no very great sin. He compared, indeed, his own party's obstructive- ness to the obstructiveness of Leonidas and his Spartans at Thermopylm,—a comparison which assumes that a constitu- tional majority, returned deliberately by the nation, ought to be regarded as an alien host of foreign invaders. Sir Stafford Northcote will not soon hear the end of these frank admissions. He seems to have quite thrown off on Wednesday the disguise of moderation.
