'I think so,' Colonel Halkett interposed, and he spoke as a man of
property.

Mr. Tuckham grew fervent in his allusions to our wealth and our commerce.
Having won the race and gained the prize, shall we let it slip out of our
grasp? Upon this topic his voice descended to tones of priestlike awe:
for are we not the envy of the world? Our wealth is countless, fabulous.
It may well inspire veneration. And we have won it with our hands,
thanks (he implied it so) to our religion. We are rich in money and
industry, in those two things only, and the corruption of an energetic
industry is constantly threatened by the profusion of wealth giving it
employment. This being the case, either your Radicals do not know the
first conditions of human nature, or they do; and if they do they are
traitors, and the Liberals opening the gates to them are fools: and some
are knaves. We perish as a Great Power if we cease to look sharp ahead,
hold firm together, and make the utmost of what we possess. The word for
the performance of those duties is Toryism: a word with an older flavour
than Conservatism, and Mr. Tuckham preferred it. By all means let
workmen be free men but a man must earn his freedom daily, or he will
become a slave in some form or another: and the way to earn it is by work
and obedience to right direction. In a country like ours, open on all
sides to the competition of intelligence and strength, with a Press that
is the voice of all parties and of every interest; in a country offering
to your investments three and a half and more per cent., secure as the
firmament!

He perceived an amazed expression on Miss Halkett's countenance; and
'Ay,' said he, 'that means the certainty of food to millions of mouths,
and comforts, if not luxuries, to half the population. A safe percentage
on savings is the basis of civilization.'