Mr. Gladstone, in his letter on Disestablishment to Mr. Bosworth
Smith, has quite truly described the great panic which is being stimulated concerning Church defence as a Tory manoeuvre intended to divert attention from the issues 110w before the nation to issues of a dim and distant future. Sir Henry James has gone even further, and declared that in putting the Church forward the Tories are behaving like cowards who hide behind their women, trusting that their foes will shrink from injuring anything so gentle and gracious as a woman. Well, that seems to us too harsh. Doubtless the panic raised about the Church suits admirably the vacuity of the Tory mind, and gives them something exciting to say. But the imputation of cowardice is a strong one, and we can see no reason for attributing it to those who raise the outcry. They probably believe, and believe
passionately, in the iniquity of all Radicals, and are only acting on their superstition. For our own parts, we regard the Tories as superstitions fanatics, not at ali as cowardly dastards.
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