Mr. Forster also spoke at Edinburgh on Education on Saturday,
when receiving the honorary gift of the freedom of the city of Edinburgh, and told an excellent story of the use educa- tion had been to Scotchmen. A Scotchman recently applied to a Bradford manufacturer for the place of porter. "Are you
meant, ' As you was.' Some good I hope we shall get out of the sure," says the manufacturer, " that you mean porter?" " Porter change, such as it is," but no one is to suppose that a change to begin with," says the Scotchman. "Yes," says the menu- of procedure means a true law reform. Surely it means one kind faeturer, "porter to begin with, but partner to end with. I have of Law reform, and that the hest.. • If it does make 4fitioe,more had •three Scotcbmen pouters to begin with, and all three are my expeditions, it makes it much more truly justice. Justice long ,partners now." Mr. Forster closed his speech with a useful hint on delayed means justice preceded by a long period. of .injustice, in the.,great importance of keeping up strong local centres of opinion
which the unrighteous man hopes, and the righteous fears. (of which Edinburgh, after London, would no doubt be one of the Mr. W. E. Forster delivered yesterday week a striking address most important), if only for the sake of preventing that too rapid formation of a not very strong public opinion which
the rapidity of •communication in these islands is tending, to-promote. Public opinion, _ said _Mr_ _Forster, _ cannot be _
powerful in the end, but " it Ailey be too powerful
in the beginning." In other words, it ,,may be -formed by the mere flash of a sympathy, and without adequate discussion, without the real canvassing of educated intelligence. Local' centres, with strong intellectual traditions of their own, are most important to prevent the easy transmission of premature waves of ill-grounded susceptibility, and certainly to no place more completely. than to Edinburgh would this exhortation to guard their own traditional modes of looking at public matters, more eminently. apply.
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