Lord Salisbury has published in the National Review a paper
full of statistics on Redistribution. The Standard calls it a " repellent " essay, and it is certainly a dry one. Its professed object is to show that Tories are sincere in their care for Redistri- bution; and its real object is to make compromise impossible. Lord Salisbury believes that with a fair scheme of elections Tories would be to Liberals, speaking roughly, as 9 to 11, and demands some system of Redistribution which shall secure that propor- _ton between parties in the House of Commons. It would be simply impossible to secure any such result, without proposing 'some scheme like Mr. Hare's, which the nation would not accept; and if it were possible, it would be injurious. Better a heavy Tory majority than an equalisation of parties, which would leave Mr. Parnell master of the Legislature. Redistribution must go forward on the old lines of suppression of petty constituencies and the transfer of power to insufficiently represented bodies ; and if Lord Salisbury's decision is final, there is nothing for it but war. Nothing stops his converting the new constituencies to Toryism if he can, and he will find it easier than to convince the people that the first duty of a majority is to tie itself hand and foot. It is characteristic of Lord Salisbury that in the last page he says his grand object is to prevent the Liberals from "plunder- ing." He listens to the tramp of the advancing Democracy, and says of that air-filling sound,—" Proputty, proputty, proputty, that's what I heerd un say !"
