The Government were entertained by the Lord Mayor at the
Mansion House on Wednesday, when Lord Salisbury made a speech complimenting the Queen on tha loyalty of "the most loyal and the most powerful people on the earth ;" language which seems more complimentary than accurate, unless Lord Salisbury either construes the word " powerful " in a peculiar sense of his own, or takes leave to include all the English communities of the British Colonies amongst those whose power he thus exalts. He repeated once more that the first" mandate" of this Government is to maintain the unity of the Empire, and that the Government is bound to do so "by sanctions as sacred as ever bound the honour of a private man or the consistency of a statesman." With regard to Ireland, he said :—" Up to this time I have always maintained that our responsibility was imperfect. We had to deal with a state of law which we condemned; we were unable to repress crime as we thought it ought to be repressed ; but now we have been entrusted with the powers for which we asked, and we feel that Parliament will have the right to say to us with respect to these powers, and with respect to each one of these powers, 'Have you used it to the full and in the best manner in which it was capable of being used?' and they will have the right to come upon us with heavy censure, if by any neglect, or imprudence, or timidity on our part, the weapon with which they have entrusted us fails of the effect they intended it to have." That does not sound like the speech of a statesman who shrinks from proclaiming the National League. Nevertheless, added Lord Salisbury, the country must not expect that any weapon would have a magical effect in removing the Irish difficulty. In part it is the consequence of that universal suffering which the depression of agriculture has produced throughout the world. On the settlement of the Russo-Afghan border Lord Salisbury spoke with satisfaction, and of our duty to stay in Egypt till our work is done, with confidence and assurance. He believed that peace was now better assured in Europe than it had been for many months past.
