Mr. Carlyle has written a letter to the Secretary of
the Eyre Defence Fund, Mr. Hamilton Hume, stating that he cannot give anything but his personal support and moral influence to the Committee, but that he gives that with all his heart. This letter would be a very good one for the defence of a quite con- ceivable and possible Mr. Eyre, but has the disadvantage of betraying the utmost ignorance and error as to the actual Gover- nor in question. It is unfortunately not based, as he himself would put it, on any substantial foundation of eternal fact. The verities are all against him, and give their everlasting 'no' to his presentation of the case. It is indeed really very curious how this great literary worshipper of strength has managed of late to ignore the highest sort of strength, the latent strength implied in temperate self-command, in curbing tightly your own party- impulses, in keeping down not only the passion of rebels, but the reactionary passion which rebellion excites among the loyal. As there is a latent heat only given out when the ice melts, so there is a latent strength only given out when firm self-command relaxes into panic violence. Mr. Carlyle cannot appreciate it in the former stage, he appreciates it only when it becomes fluid or passes into vapour.
