The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1903-10-07
DEvONSHIRE GETS OUT.
Leader of the Conservatives In
House of Lords Resigns.

Mr.. Balfour's Letter to His Late Col
league In Which He Says He See3
No Difficulty In Carrying Out Policy
Which For a Fortnight the Latter
Accepted.
London, Oct. 6.-The Duke of Dev-
onshire, who was leader Of the Con-
Seryative party in the house of lords,
has resigned the Office of lord presi-
dent of the council and the king has
accepted his resignation.
The Duke of Devonshire wrote to
Mr.. Balfour giving his reasons for his
resignation which he attributed among
other things to the premiers speech
at Sheffield and his pamphlet on in
sular free trade. The Duke of Devon
shire has not yet made his letter pub
lie, but a letter of acknowledgment
from Mr.. Balfour, dated October 3 and
published last night, says:
1T was on September 16 that you
Informed me of your resolve to remain
n the government. This decision was
preceded by much confidential cores
pondence, much intimate conversation.
There was no phase of policy which /
was not prepared to discuss and
which | did not, in fact, discuss with
perfect frankness. The decision ar
rived at had a right to consider final.
Accordingly | consulted you on the
best mode of filling the vacancies in
the government of which you are the
most distinguished member.
"You were good enough to express
some weighty judgments on the deli
cate matters submitted to you. You
even initiated proposals of your own,
which l gladly accepted. Our last
communication on these subjects was
in the letter | dictated during my
journey to Sheffield on Thursday aft
ernoon.
"Less than 4S hours thereafter | re-
ceived in Edinburgh the kilograms
which first announced you intention
to resign and your desire TO see the
process of resignation consummated
without delay and without discussion.
The principal occasion for this singu-
lar tranformation was, you tell me,
my Sheffield speech. This is strange
indeed. In intention, at least, there
was no doctrine contained in that
speech which was not contained in
my note on insular free trade and in
my published letter to Mr.. Chamber
lain.
with both you we're intimately ac-
quainted during the whole fortnight in
which you lent your countenance to the
government after the recent resigna-
tions. | must suppose, therefore, that
1t is some unintentional discrepancy
between the written and spoken words
which now drives you to desert the ad-
ministration you so long adorned.
'But till one o'clock this afternoon
| had, l confess, counted you not as
an opponent but as colleague. To
such a one it would have seemed nat
ural, so should have thought, to take
in cases of apparent discrepancy the
written rather than the spoken words,
or if this is asking too much at least
to made an inquiry before arriving
at a final hostile conclusion. But
what and where is this Discrepancy?
| do not believe that it exists.
Am | not right in complaining of
your procedure in reference to my
Sheffield speech? You fear that it
will aggravate the party division. If
there is anything certain it is that the
declaration of policy then made pro-
duced and is destined to produce
greater harmony in the party than has
prevailed since the fiscal question
first came to the front six months
ago.
Had you resigned on the 18th or
had you not resigned at all this heal
ing effect would have suffered no in
terruption. To resign now and to re-
sign on the speech is to take the
course most calculated to make harder
the hard task of the peacemaker.
again, do you not feel some spec
ial regret at having, at this particular
juncture, to sever connection with a
unionist administration? At the mo-
ment of its most buoyant prosperity
your absence from it's 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 perplexities at the great
est. see no difficulty in carrying
out the policy, which for a fortnight
you were willing to accept, by the aid
of an administration which for a fort
night you helped to construct"