(7)11 Monday in the House Of Lords, Lord Lansdowne, on
the invitation of Lord Spencer, gave a synopsis of the state- ment which Mr. Balfour was then making in the Commons. Thursday week's vote could not be taken as "a deliberate judgment of Parliament," and the Government intended to ignore the incident. The feature of the debate was the interposition of Lord Rosebery, who in a remarkable speech attacked Mr. Balfour's decision. "It seems to me that the Government by their actions are straining the structure of the Constitution in a manner that threatens its foundations." If an appeal to the country was to be long delayed, no one could tell bow violent the reaction might be, and what kind of party might be returned in the majority. Lord Rosebery's speech was a dignified and temperate pro- test, and it is difficult to defend the tone of contemptuous indifference with which the Lord Chancellor received it. Apparently, in the view of the head of the English Bench, any criticism of the Government is "offensive," and the critic must be summarily told to mind his own affairs.
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