Excerpt from Stray Shots: Political, Military, Economical and SocialA man with what Lord Granville calls a cross-bench mind is of no use to either political party; but the fact that he forms his own ideas of public policy, morality, and honour, is no reason why he should not be able to see as far through a brick wall as those who take their political Opinions at second hand from their leaders.The cross-bench' mind may be a nuisance, but I really think it is more respectable than the purely party mind.We comfort ourselves with the idea that we are much better off than any of our neighbours, because our govern ing class is composed of men of fortune and position perfectly independent of salaries and patronage; in a position to consult their will, 'and not their necessities.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy.

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