The Saint Paul globe., 1903-10-06


subjects to foifSfhis opponents who
would wrest it either to the right hand
or the LETT. Bat-till / o'clock this aft
ernoon had, T;iconfess, counted you
not as an opponents but as a colleague,
colIeague IN spirit as well as in name
To such oneSa would have seemed
natural, SO should have thought, to
take IN cases or apparent discrepancy
the written rather than the spoken
words as expressing the true meaning
OF the author, or, if this is asking too
much, at least to make an inquiry be-
fore arriving at final hostile conclu-
sion. But, afteH all, what and where
is this discrepancy which has forced
you in so unexpected a fashion to re-
verse considered policy?
do not believe that it exists, and
IL any other man than yourself had
expended SO much inquisitorial subtlety
In detecting imaginary heresies,
should nave surmised that he was more
anxious to pick quarrel than partieu-
lar as to the sufficiency of it's occasion.
10 you fortunately, no such suspicion
can attach. Yet am / unreasonable in
tnlhklng that your resignation gives
me some just occasion of complaint and
perhaps some special occasion of re-
gret TO yourself? Am /, for example,
not right in complaining of your pro-
cedure In reference to my Sheffield
speech You fear that it will aggra-
Vate the party division If there is any
tnlhg certain, it is that the declaration
or poIlcy then made, produced and is
oestlned TO produce greater harmony in
the party than has prevailed since the
nscal question first came to the front
SIX months ago. Had you resigned on
the 10Th, or had you not resigned at
all, this healing effect would have suf-
Tered no interruption. To resign now,
CrT1 on 4 = oh 90 &o1r.
the course most calculated to make
harder the hard task of the peacema6-
er.
Again do you not feel some special
regret at having at this particular
Juncture TO sever your connection with
Un1onlst administration? Doubtless
there is no imaginable occasion on
winch you could have left one without
lnfleting on it serious loss. AT the
moment of its most buoyant prosperity
your absence from its councils would
have been sensibly felt, but you have
in fact left it when, in the opinion of
our opponents, its fortunes are at the
lowest and its Jperplexities at the
greatest. Maybe, however, you are
spared this agSravation of the inevita-
Die pain OF separation by holding, as l
hold, that our opponents are in this
mistaken. | firmly believe they are.
see no dlt1culty in carrying out the
pollcy, which fora fortnight you were
willing to accept. by the aid of an ad-
ministration which for a fortnight you
helped me to construct. On this point
L feel no disquiet. / cannot pretend
to view with light equanimity the loss
of colleague whose services to the
Un1onist party no, change and chance
of political fortune can tempt any
Unionist to forget"
Late this evening the Duke of Dew
onshire's letter to Mr.. Balfour was
communicated to the press. 1t is as
follows:
81 have. since we last met, felt in
creasing doubt whether had been we'll
advised in consenting to separate my
self from those of our colleagues whose
designations were rendered and accept
ed last month, but until some new de-
velopment in the situation should have
taken place 1 have not thought it nee
essary to trouble you with these
doubts. The speech, however, which
you delivered last night made it neces-
sary for me to finally and definitely sde-a
eide whether I am so far in agreement
with yourself on the question of fiscal
policy as to make it possible for me,
with satisfaction to myself or advan-
ttagel to the, community, to remain
member of your government.
Il must especially, as the represent
at1Ve of the government In one of the
houses of parliament, in forming this
decision, have regard not only to the
definite statements of policy contained
in your speech, but also to its general
tone, and tendency. AS to the former,
1T was possible to arrive at clear un-
derstanding by previous discussion,
but as to the latter, no Judgment could
be formed until declaration had been
actually made.
Il was prepared by our discussions
for your statement that you desired to
obtain the sanction of the constituent
cfes for reversal of the doctrine that
taxation should never be imposed ex-
cept for purposes of revenue, and this
is no doubt the principal and most def
mite statement in your speech. But
you may remember that I told you that
1 thought it would be very difficult to
make this statement the foundation of
a great announcement of policy, mas
much as l was not aware of any law
or constitutional principle in which this
doctrine was embodied. I admit that
you have succeeded in making this
declaration the basis OF a great politi-
cal announcement, but in my opinion
that announcement has been extended
very far beyond the necessities of the
case. . Il
'fIt was unnecessary, in my opinion.
for the purpose of the statement to
which 1 had assented to assert that
the controversy of 1916, which you de-
scribed as the great lawsuit between
free trade and protection, is of no in
terest whatever to US, except from
historical point of view. Nor can
think that it was necessary to assert
that you desiPedsito reverse the fiscal
tradition, to alter fundamentally the
fiscal tradition4tha has prevailed dur
ing the last two generations 1 had
hoped to have found in your speech a
definite statement of adherence to the
principles of free trade and the ordi-
nary basis of our fiscal and CONNER
cial system and an equally definite re-
pudlation of the principle of protection
in the interest of our national indus
tries. But, in their absence, / cannot
help thinking that such declara tions
as those which I have quoted cannot
fail to have the effect of materially en-
couraging the advocates of direct pro-
lection in the controversy which has
been raised throughout the country.
and of discoura ging those who, like
me, and I hoped yourself, believe that
our present system of free imports, and
especially of food imports, is on the
whole most advantageous to the coun-
try, although we do not contend that
the principles on which it rests pos
sess any such authority or sanctity as
to forbid any departure from it-for