upon. The enfranchisement of the labourer is looked upon by the Whig as the corollary of the Reform Bill, and the last stone of the building the foundation of which was laid in 1832. The question of redistribution of seats and of division of districts is one of detail, and not of principle, and is one in which each party in the State may hope to be the gainer. Should the next general election turn upon a Reform Bill, the Liberals will present a united front, and the divisions which were so apparent in 1874 will be again dormant as they were last year.

The second question out of the three we have alluded to is the reform of the land laws, and it is already quite clear that it is being approached in different ways by the sections of the Liberal party. At Liverpool a short time ago the Chairman of the National Liberal Federation, in alluding to the Irish Land Bill, remarked that 'it was not a final settlement, because no settlement could be final except one involving the single and not the dual ownership of the land; that he did not attach much importance to the troubles that were going on, and that English landlordism was reducing England to precisely the same condition as Ireland.' The duty of the Federation was to prevent wishy-washy measures being proposed. Mr. Chamberlain on the same occasion said that the land system of England stood in no less need of reform than that of Ireland. The importance of such statements as these must not be underrated. They are the direct contradiction of Mr. Gladstone's opinions as uttered at Leeds. Mr. Gladstone refused to recognise any analogy between Ireland and England. The Chairman of the Liberal Federation, which represents powerful bodies and large interests, does not condemn the agitation in Ireland, while the President of the Board of Trade makes no distinction between the conditions that exist with regard to the land in the two countries. The Chairman of the Federation objects to dual ownership, which is the state of things aimed at by the two Irish Land Bills. Single ownership exists at the present moment in England, and a strong measure of land reform would tend to make it dual. In regarding the attitude of the Whigs towards this question, it is needless to say that they would not assent to any Bill that might issue under the auspices of the Federation. Those, however, who would assent to such a Billas is foreshadowed by Mr. Collings's and Mr. Chamberlain's observations are few in number. Mr. Gladstone would obviously give no encouragement to an agitation for either free sale or fixity of tenure in England. The present Government would not lend its sanction to any proposal that admitted the existence of grievances in England parallel with those in Ireland. There would therefore be no temptation for the Whigs to secede, and it is unlikely that they will refuse their support to the Ministry if they introduce a measure dealing with compensation for improvements, the abolition of distraint, or the laws affecting entail. The

speeches of the last few months show clearly that further than this the bulk of the Liberal party is not prepared to go, and the National Liberal Federation will have to look to another Parliament for the realisation of its views. The moderate Liberal regards the right of the landlord to choose his tenant as no less strong than that of the constituent to choose his representative, the latter of whom is liable at the end of his lease to summary ejectment, with no compensation for the thousands he has spent. Property invested in land differs in his eyes in no respect from property in mills, in savings-banks, in the varied securities of the United Kingdom. Its privileges are fast becoming extinct, and privileges, though odious, are naturally attached to investments that produce only 2 per cent. No hard bargain can be made in these days with those who desire to occupy and cultivate the land. From 25 to 60 per cent. has been in many cases deducted from the rental of farms, and where no reductions have been made, the reason is probably to be found in the fact that there are numerous applicants whenever a vacancy occurs in any holding in the neighbourhood. Ground game will soon be confined to a few specimens in a museum, and is an element no longer to be taken into consideration in the letting value of a farm. The best compost for the lands, are the wise master's feet and hands,' wrote an Elizabethan poet, and his advice holds good at the present day. The working farmer has suffered little in comparison with his neighbour who delegates his work to others; and he has struggled successfully against the worst and longest cycle known of disastrous seasons. The sun is likely to prove a far more powerful auxiliary to the British farmer than the Legislature. The two causes that of late have led to the prominence given to the question of the reform of the land laws are the bad seasons and the success of the agitation in Ireland.

In 1868 it seemed probable that an attack upon the English Church would not long be postponed, but owing to the two causes we have mentioned it is clear that the advanced Radicals believe that the landowner is less strong than the Church, and that a crusade is more likely to succeed in the present condition of agriculture than at a later date. It would be a mistake to suppose, because little was heard in the constituencies last year of the question of Disestablishment, that therefore it is likely to remain long dormant. In the North-where, as we have said, Dissent and the Church are strongly hostile to one another-it is sure to occupy a prominent place again; and here the Whig has given no indication that he is willing to support such a measure. On the contrary, his sympathies are with the Church, and, though all things are possible for ministers when the education of the Conservative party in 1867 is remembered, it will be a hard task to educate the Whig to disestablish and to disendow the Church of which he is probably either an attached or a nominal member.

For some years to come, however, Whig discontent need not, we

think, be looked upon as a factor of importance in politics. A few seceders there may be, but the House of Lords is more likely to contain them than the House of Commons. No measure bearing the Government stamp will excite alarm, and the discomfort of the position will be felt by the Whig alone. He lies under great disadvantages. The world is proverbially ungrateful for past favours, and he can place before his constituents no attractive programme; he can appeal neither to the passions nor to the cupidity of the people. He has placed power in their hands, and is willing to add to it, but in the application of it he protests with Mr. Burke against 'new principles of Whiggism disseminated in this country from federation societies.' The Whig has parted with the sword and retained the horn; and he cannot regard the future with confidence. Sir Stafford Northcote, in one of his Scotch speeches, assumed the character of Noah after the Deluge, crediting, we suppose, Mr. Lowther with the subordinate part of the dove returning to him with glad tidings from the outer world, and with the leaf of Protection in his mouth. Whether Sir Stafford has any claims to represent himself as Noah we do not pretend to say, but if he is Noah, he is Noah before and not after the Deluge. There are leaps in the dark before us, and a bold prophet would be needed to forecast the results of a Reform Bill, or of the retirement of the present leader of the Liberal party. Either of these events may give rise to great changes, and disappoint all calculations. It may be that under these new conditions there will be found no place for the old Whig, and that in obedience to the law of the survival of the most active he will suffer a gentle euthanasia, his extinction being effected by various causes, such as gradual absorption into the House of Lords, inability to adapt himself to the exigencies of modern political life, want of organisation and of the introduction of new blood and vigour from outside; and the time will come when the student of politics will search in vain for 'plain Whig principles' except in the pages of the Edinburgh Review. Years, no doubt, would be required to bring about such a result, but the end would at least be a happy one, involving no recriminations or reproaches, and accompanied by a sense of the completion of a long and honourable existence, fraught with enduring benefits to the mass of the people.

CHARLES MILNES GASKELL.

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS AND THE
HOME OFFICE.

THE public attention which has been directed to St. Paul's Industrial School, the letters of the Home Secretary and of others, and the various questions that have been raised, make the moment opportune for extracting one or two practical conclusions from the chaos of conflicting and recriminating altercation.

If I do not discuss the charges brought against the management of the school, it is not that I fail to appreciate their gravity, but rather that they are so grave, and involve imputations of such gross cruelty, that they must be thoroughly investigated by the Home Secretary if the legitimate demands of the public are to be satisfied, and that they may lead to a criminal prosecution. It is therefore my purpose here to deal only with the general questions raised by the discussion.

The St. Paul's School was established in 1873. The first report of the Home Office inspector is at page 133 of the Seventeenth Report on Reformatory and Industrial Schools. Mr. Rogers, the inspector, reports on his inspection of November 27, 1873:

'Number of inmates on day of inspection-boys, 100. All under detention, and all sent at the instance of the School Board for London. I found every part of the house thoroughly clean and in excellent order. The school was certified on the 28th of February, 1873, and was quite full by the 31st of May. I was glad to find the school making satisfactory progress in every respect; a very fair standard of efficiency had been attained at my visit.

'Health and general condition.-The boys had suffered from no serious complaint; there was no case of sickness in the house.

'Conduct and discipline.-Under the control of a man of sound experience [Mr. Hinchcliffe] the hundred boys so rapidly gathered together had soon conformed themselves to the regulations of the place. I found them orderly and improving. They had given little trouble. Educational state.-I found the school well-organised; good order and discipline prevailing. The boys when admitted were most of

Since the above was written a letter has been received from the Home Secretary stating that the matter has been referred to the Public Prosecutor.

them very ignorant, and the results were of course inferior to what may be expected hereafter. But I found a good system at work and a solid foundation being laid.

6

Industrial training.-The boys are employed as tailors, shoemakers, and printers. Many of the boys are too young at present for much industrial employment.

General remarks.-The school is well established, and bids fair to work well.

'Staff.—Superintendent and matron, Mr. and Mrs. Hinchcliffe, assistant schoolmaster, tailor, shoemaker, printer and assistant.

The reports from year to year contain criticisms of detail, with suggestions for improvement in certain points, but are on the whole favourable to the school. In 1878 and in 1879 the inspector's visits were without notice. In 1880 the last report continues favourable; the following are the most material remarks:

"State of premises.-In fair order.

and the premises are fairly convenient.

There is a good playground,

Health and general condition.-There had been one death from phthisis, and there was a boy seriously ill with the same disease when I visited the school. There was also a bad case of hip-disease, and a boy with scrofula was at Margate under treatment. One boy had been discharged with scrofula, and the discharge of another boy, for the same reason, was about to be applied for. Care should be taken not to admit boys whose health does not seem to promise a good result from industrial training.

'Conduct and discipline.-There had been three cases of absconding-one boy had not been brought back. The general conduct was reported to have been fairly good.

'Educational state. The boys passed a fairly good examination. The senior class was doing fourth standard work; the boys in it read well and wrote a very fair dictation, but only half the class satisfied me in arithmetic. The second class was presented in the third standard, and passed well. The junior classes were coming on well. The reading seems well attended to.

'Industrial training.-I found twelve boys in the tailors' shops and twelve in the shoemakers'; sixteen were learning printing. Wood-chopping and sack-making were the other occupations.'

Such was the condition of St. Paul's Industrial School, according to official reports, at the time when the very grave charges at present under investigation were made, and, if these charges are true, it is evident that the inspection of the Home Office and the report of their inspector are very insufficient guarantees for the good conduct of a school.