5th December,
have been content to remain Prime Mr. Baxrour vould apparently Minister until the Septennial Act forced him to dissolve Parliament. The wets that one-half of his wnajority bad dwindled away under his leadership; that every doubtful by-election, and many where the Li-borals were supposed to have no chance at all, went against him; that most of. hie best cullexgues had do-serted him and he had been obliged to fill his Cabinet with second-diss politicians, whom their most devoted friends had never imagined 0 be of Cabinet rank; could not make him believe that he was not a heaven-ion, and he broke up his party through never being able or taking Premier does. On one point, however, and that the point on which the coming election will turn, the trouble, to understand the fiscal Liberals and Radicals are absolutely question, Consequen'ly the fenced united, while the Conservatives are with it as long as he could, pretending to be at the same time on Mr. Chan: divided, and that is the fiscal ques-ion. The great question of the day berlain's side but against his proposals, until at last Mr. Chamberlain is the maintenance of our present Free Trade System. It is, as we himself has got tired of all this have said, this nestion which has graceful shiily shellying and has|broken up the unionist Party, the ups+t the Cabinet, only disadvantage to the Liberals There is nothing heroic in Mr. being that their position isa negative Balfour's resignation. He hung on me, as they are simply refusing to to office as long as he possibly could,|allow any change and there is defending his position by the argu-always more spirit about an attack, the representatives of the nation, ment that he still had @ majority of|such as Mr. Chamberlain is: making, But Mr. Chamberlain's propaganda though he knew perfectly well that has not gathered strenjzth with time; they had ceased to represent the there much more enthusiasm fur nation, But he was going to meet it amo a certain section of the Parliament again, and he had an- public whea it was first undertaken nounced a portion of his intended legislative programme, and he was than there is now. Unfortunately, the fates have been against him; not going to resign or dissolve unti British commerce has not languished he was "obliged to, This was his|in consequence of foreign bounty-fed attitude when Parliament was procompetition, and trades which Mr, rogued, and though he still his, a|Chumberlain asserted were. being considerable majority of the repre-killed by "dumping" have shown sentatives of the nation behind him, themselves more vigorous than ever. thereby embarrassing his successors opposed to Protection in any form, he resigns, but without dissolving,|The British voter has shown himself as much as possible. They have and the General Election will confirm either to dissolve at a most inthe role of Free Irae, and prove convenient time, or carry on the that it is hopeless to expect to government with a hostile majority succeed by denouncing it, in both Touses, A Liberal Government is always at the disadvantage that the majority in the House of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.