Mr. Disraeli, in urging reasons against an early adjournment of
the debate on the Intoxicating Liquors Bill on Thursday night; took occasion to remark on the illusion which prevailed as to the pro- bable brevity of the Session, and as to the minimum of legislative fruit which it would produce. He believed, he said, that it would be a long Session, and that much would be done. In a few days, there would probably be at least seven measures of first-rate importance before them. We suppose he referred to the Scotch Church Patronage Bill, the Public Worship Regulation Bill, Mr. Cross's Factory Bill, Mr. Cross's promised Bill in relation to the houses of the working-classes, Lord Cairns's Land Bill, the Irish Judicature Bill, and the Intoxicating Liquors Bill,—valuable, no doubt, but somewhat gritty measures, the last of which, limited, as it is to petty alterations hardly worth making, in an Act ad- mitted by the Governmerit to be generally sound, can hardly be held to be of " first-rate importance ;" and of the other measures, much the most important is not in the hands of the Government. Still, if both Houses of Parliament receive the sevenfold grace necessary to pass even these seven measures, Mr. Disraeli's tone of modest self-confidence as to the achievements of his first Session of Tory majority will be fairly justified. The humility which does not despise a day of small things is eminently Conservative.
