find the
following "contrast" between "national life" in the two countries:--

"There is, perhaps, no Government in the world which succeeds more
admirably in the functions of eliciting, sustaining, and directing
public opinion than that of England. It does not, it is true, escape its
full share of hostile criticism, and, indeed, rather signally
illustrates the saying of Bacon, that 'the best Governments are always
subject to be like the finest crystals, in which every icicle and grain
is seen which in a fouler stone is never perceived;' but whatever
charges may be brought against the balance of its powers, or against its
legislative efficiency, few men will question its eminent success as an
organ of public opinion. In England an even disproportionate amount of
the national talent takes the direction of politics. The pulse of an
energetic national life is felt in every quarter of the land. The
debates of Parliament are followed with a warm, constant, and
intelligent interest by all sections of the community. It draws all
classes within the circle of political interests, and is the centre of a
strong and steady patriotism, equally removed from the apathy of many
Continental nations in time of calm, and from their feverish and
spasmodic energy in time of excitement. Its decisions, if not instantly
accepted, never fail to have a profound and calming influence on the
public mind. It is the safety-valve of the nation. The discontents, the
suspicions, the peccant humours that agitate the people, find there
their vent, their resolution, and their end.

"It is impossible, I think, not to be struck by the contrast which, in
this respect, Ireland presents to England. If the one country furnishes
us with an admirable example of the action of a healthy public opinion,
the other supplies us with the most unequivocal signs of its disease.
The Imperial Parliament exercises for Ireland legislative functions, but
it is almost powerless upon opinion--it allays no discontent, and
attracts no affection. Political talent, which for many years was at
least as abundant among Irishmen as in any equally numerous section of
the people, has been steadily declining, and marked decadence in this
respect among the representatives of the nation reflects but too truly
the absence of public spirit in their constituents.

"The upper classes have lost their sympathy with and their moral
ascendency over their tenants, and are thrown for the most part i