THIRD MARQUESS OF SALISBURY 251
with a sentence which sums up his opinion on the subject : ' Whichever course is taken, the condition in the representative system which it is our duty to maintain, even at the cost of any restriction or any anomaly, is that the intellectual status of the legislature shall not be lowered, and that sufficient weight, direct or indirect, shall be given to property to secure it from the possibility of harm."
His first article in the Quarterly Review (April, 1860) dealt with the same subject, and was a severe and trenchant criticism of Lord John Russell's Reform Bill. The article caused a considerable stir in political circles, and Lord John Russell felt it necessary to defend himself in a speech in the House. The Bill was soon afterwards dropped.
During the uneventful years of Palmerston's last administration (1859 1 865), Lord Robert Cecil continued to increase his reputation as a ready debater and a brilliant speaker. " Beware of that young man," said Palmerston to one of his colleagues ; " he is master of one great secret of success in debate. Instead of defending him- self, he attacks you." He was strongly interested in all educational questions and in all matters affecting the well-being of the poor, and his staunch churchmanship won him the confidence of the High Anglican party, whose recognised spokesman in Parliament he became. These years are memorable for his contests with Gladstone, which began over the Bill for the Repeal of the
�� �
