Their' weakness lay in the fact that they were at times too coniservative—that is, they recognized too late the demands of the time and began by opposing progress, although it might be progress advantageous to themselves. One may understand this in view of their but the fact remains that it worked to the detriment of their relations with me, especially during my reign, when the development of the empire, particularly of industry and commerce, rapidly forward; and I desired—and was obliged—to place no obstacles in the way of that development, but to promote it. When I said that it was not al-j Ways easy, for the reasons adduced, to deal with the Conservatives, I am well aware that the same thing is maintained about me Perhaps this is because I stood close to the Conservatives on account of my traditions, but was not a Conservative for party reasons. I was
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.