May I (writes “Lewis Carroll”) presume to anticipate the Daily News in making an announcment which will shake to its centre the whole scientific world? The Perpetuum Mobile is discovered! We may confidently expect that a clock will shortly be exhibited which, as often as it runs down, is able to wind itself up again. The discoverer of this marvellous principle—the mere details of construction being trifles that any watchmaker can arrange—is no less a person than Mr. Gladstone, on whose great mind is has dawned, for the first time in the world’s history, that a body of men can confer on themselves rights, over another body of men which they do not already possess. What he says is, in effect, this:—“We, the Majority of the House of Commons, admit that we have not at present any constitutional right to close a debate against the wish of you, the Minority. We can, however, effect our object by a twofold process. First, we will propose and carry against your wish, a Resolution conferring upon us this right: secondly, we will transfer ourselves from the position of donors to that of recipients, and will proceed to exercise the right we have thus received.” That is to say, Mr. Pyke will first introduce Mr. Pluck, and then Mr. Pluck, being regularly introduced, will be qualified to introduce Mr. Pyke. It will not, I hope, be deemed impertinent, while the fate of the First Resolution is yet hidden in the future, to raise the question whether the operation proposed by Mr. Gladstone is either ethically or logically possible.