THR DEMEANOUR OF ENGLAND. 249 counterbalancing good ? May it not have so c h a p. acted upon the minds of our rulers as to make them take or liasten the steps which were to raise our army from its state of weakness and suffering to one of strength and wellbeing ? Considering that the outcry was sustained with extraordinary vigour and ability during a length- ened period, and that it wrought so powerfully upon the public mind as to bring the very con- stitution of these realms into a state of trial, a decisive and well-founded answer to the question I have thus submitted would not only have, as I think, a great historical interest, but also tend to act with great weight upon the demeanour of the country in any future war. The outcry shook the State, and weakened the country at a time when strength was greatly needed ; but, on the other hand, did it prove that the dry business of army administration can be aided by the coun- sels or the pressure of able newspaper- writers ? Did it bring a greatcoat or a blanket, or more or better food or drink to any soldier on the Cher- sonese Heights ? The question sweeps so wide a range that there would be evident rashness in meeting it with an absolute negative ; but, on the other hand, an affirmative answer would, perhaps, stand in danger of being somewhat bluffly refuted by the peremptory logic of dates ; for amongst the chief measures destined to give the succour re- quired, it would be hard to find any which had not been set on foot before the outcry began. If the measures the ' Times ' might propose want ©r
