21 MARCH 1874, Page 1

The Marquis of Lothian moved, and Earl Cadogan seconded, the

Address in the Upper House, with the usual success attending a duty in which it is difficult either to succeed or to fail ; and after a short speech from Lord Granville, the Duke of Somerset rose to play candid friend to the late Government. He said that Mr. Gladstone had recently changed places with the Peers, whom he declared some few years ago to be " up in a balloon," and, moreover, had fallen out of his balloon, many of his colleagues " having been received on the soft cushions of this aristocratic assembly." He advised the Government to look upon Lord Aberdare, Lord Emly, and Lord. Carlingford as warnings to refrain from offending strong interests, disregarding votes of the House of Commons, and trying to propitiate Irish priests. He thought the Liberals ought to be grateful to Lord Cairns for carrying the minority principle, with- out which they would be in a worse predicament still. Then he attacked the policy of dissolution, described Mr. Glad- stone's mysterious financial hint as to a source of revenue not clearly indicated, as a _thimble-rigging operation, ap- pealed to Lord Granville to know " what was under the other thimble ; " sharply criticised the late Premier's letter to Lord Fermoy about Home Rule, and said that Mr. Gladstone hiinself was the cause of the divisions in the Liberal party which he had reproached with its quarrels ; the division was due to Mr.' Gladstone's unscrupulousness in " licking the very dust off the feet of democracy.' -In fact, the Duke of Somerset was just as ' nasty' as he could be, far nastier than he ever. was towards a Tory Government, and-Lord Selborne's rather preachy little speech on his evil diisposition probably did him no good. Lord Selborne should hai,e hit the Duke, not lectured him. Then Lord Grey backed up the Duke of Somerset, and no one assailed Lor:d 'Grey: There was certainly an excess of tameness shown by the Liberal Lords under sharp provocation.