Does Lord Rosebery perhaps disbelieve in the coming victory of
his party ? We ask the question because most politicians of Cabinet rank grow moderate when they expect power, and Lord Rosebery grows ferocious. He received an address in Edinburgh on Thursday, and replied in a speech in which he declared that Lord Salisbury "had called upon the men of Ulster to spread the flames of civil war" rather than allow Home-rule. "It is uncomplimentary to Lord Salisbury's sincerity that there has not been a violent fall in the securities of this country,"—which would not fall two points if all
Ireland rose in insurrection. "There has been no darker and more sinister contribution to the history of Ireland than Lord Salisbury's speech." Lord Rosebery must be perfectly well aware that all this is gross exaggeration. He went, also, a long way in the Socialist direction, declaring that the people would insist on a share of the land, on better homes, on "a better share in the amusements and recreations of life "—horse-racing was probably in the speaker's mind—and that therefore, as many of the advancing questions are not ripe for solution, "much experi- mental legislation will have to be carried through." It is not difficult to see that Lord Rosebery is a candidate for power, but it is a little difficult to believe that he thinks it near. As a Cabinet Minister he would have to recognise that the die- -content of -Ulster is a serious factor in the situation, and that nothing embarrasses a Government like large and vague promises which cannot be kept without alienating large sections of its supporters.
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