"The country" on the whole has borne itself through the
trying hour with remarkable coolness and patience. Reform- ers have held meetings in Marylebone, Finsbury, Lambeth, Birmingham, and places of less mark ; but the feeling is, that Reform stands in less danger from Lord Derby's open hos- tility than from Lord John Russell's fatal adoption. A huge sigh of relief is given by the bothered public at being quit of that particular bill. As to Protection, the Anti-Corn-law League has offered to revive itself ; but as yet Manchester thinks that there is no occasion ; so the Committee is content to sit in that capital of Free-trade to watch events. The public feels that Pro- tection is pretty near where it was before Lord Palmerston's divi- sion on the title of the Militia Bill. Those who take an interest in election amusements are beginning to get their tactics in order, and the ominous politenesses of Members to their constituents multiply ; but about the general election the interest is faint. As yet, even with a real change of Ministry, the excitement is not sufficient to rouse a hearty interest ; for, in truth, the country is blase.
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