The sun., 1903-09-23
Tho Probable Eject Of the Changes
In tho British Cabinet.

The Probable Eject Of the Changes
In tho British Cabinet.
The designations Of the Colonial Secre-
tary on the one hand and Of the Chan
cellor of the Exchequer and Of the Secre-
tary for India on the other, coupled with
the reasons therefor, which are made
plain by the letters of Premier BALFoUR
andsof Mr.. CHAMBERLAIN, signify that
the Unionist party has been irremediably
split, that a general election cannot be
long averted, and that the Liberals are
likely to return to power.
II the published letters be closely
scrutinized, it will be recognized that the
responsibility for drastic reoonstruo-
tion of the British Cabinet, and for the
disruption OF the Unionist party which
that reconstruction indicates, rests
mainly, not on Mr. CHAMBERLAIN, whose
attitude is dignified and consistent. but
on Premier BALFoUR, who has striven
to maintain himself in Office by playing
the part OF Mr.. Facing-both-ways. Had
the Prime Minister, in his conferences
with his colleagues and in his published
letters, confined himself to saying that
while he should favor such measures as
might give Great Britain some power
of retaliation against the countries that
have virtually barred out her goods,
he did not approve Of giving tariff
preference to the colonies, and must
therefore reject the proposal to that
effect, the result would simply have been
that Mr. CHAMBERLAIN would have re-
signed his post, but otherwise the Cabinet
would have been mistaken. Under
such circumstances there would have
been no occasion for Mr.. RITCHIE or for
Lord GEORGE HAMILTON to resign; nor
would there have been reason to appre-
hend that the Duke Of Devonshire, Lord
President OF the Council, and Lord BAL
FOUR Of Burleigh, Secretary Of State for
Scotland, may. feel impelled to follow
their example.
As it Is, Mr.. A. j. BALFoUR has rem
dered it impossible for sincere and far
sighted opponent Of tax on imported
food products to remain in the Cabinet
without self-stultifcation; The Pre-
mier avows in his letter that he ia a
convert to Mr.. CHAMBERLAlN's plan Of
granting a preference to the colonies,
which, Of course, would mean tax on
food; that he believes the project to be
right in principle; but he adds that he
deems the time not ripe for the applica-
ton of that principle to legislation, owing
to the present drift of public opinion in
Great Britain-a drift, by the way, which
was clearly shown, not only by the re-
cent victory Of the Liberals in Argyll
shire, but also by their triumph on Thurs
dey in St. Andrews. &.
That is to say, II he should be suffered
to retain Office and to use the machinery
of the Unionist party for the purpose Of
bringing the constituencies up to the
point Of sanctioning a retaliatory tariff,
he would seize, and it would be his duty
to seize, the first incidents that could
be construed as proofs of change in the
public mind toward the taxation OF i'm
ported foodstuffs to advocate that con-
cession OF preference to the colonies
which he believes to be right in prin-
ciple. Thus, if the United States should
refuse to lower it's duties on British
manufactures, and British public opinion
could, by such refusal, be wrought tenn
porarily to resentment, Government
headed by Mr.. BALFoUR would, if armed
with retaliatory powers, impose such
discriminating duties on the food prod
ucts of the United States as would prac-
tically be tantamount to giving a prefer
ence to Canada.
No self-respecting advocate OF the
untaxed loaf can afford to remain in a
Cabinet the head of which proclaims
the conviction that it would be right to
tax the bread OF the British workingman
in order to increase the gains OF the
Canadian agriculturist. That is why
we think that both logic and decency
will prompt the Duke Of DEvoNsHIRE,
| Lord BALFoUR of Burleigh and every
colleague of theirs who is opposed to a
revival OF the Corn laws to follow the
example set by the Chancellor Of the
Exohequer and the Secretary for In
dia, and to leave Premier BALFoUR to
flock by himself, or to surround himself
with such conductors as also consider
the concession of preference to colo
NAL foodstuffs right in principle but
premature; or who, in other words, are
willing "to let 4 dare not wait upon
Il would
Mr.. CHAMBERLAIN, on his side, has
chosen sturdier and a worthier part.
Not only does he adhere unhinchingly
to the belief that preference to the
food products of the colonies is right in
principle and indispensable to the ce-
menting of the British Empire, but he
sternly declines to seek the fulflment
Of his purpose by sham retreat, by
flank movements or by any disingenuous
expedients. He ia resolved to nail bis
colors to the mast, and to keep them in
the forefront OF the bottle. Instead Of
saying, az he might have said that Q
retaliatory tariff had always been q part
| of his scheme, and that he would accept
it on the ground that half loaf Is better
than no bread at all, he boldly tells his
oountrymen that he must have the whole
|