Mr. Balfour in his reply, dated October 3rd, expresses a
shrill and angry surprise at the Duke's communication. In view of much confidential correspondence and intimate conversation before September 16th, when the Duke decided to remain in the Cabinet, he felt that he had a right to consider that decision as final, and so regarded it. He subsequently consulted the Duke as to the filling of vacancies, and accepted some of his pro. posals. His last communication was written only forty-eight hours before the receipt of the Duke's telegram announcing his intention to resign and his desire that his resignation should be announced forthwith. Mr. Balfour expresses himself as entirely unable to discover in his Sheffield speech any valid ground for this " singular transformation." In intention the speech was entirely forestalled by his pamphlet; and if there was any unintentional discrepancy between the written and the spoken word, the Duke ought to have made inquiries before preferring the latter. For himself, he did not believe any such discrepancy existed, and in the case of any other man in the world would have attributed his action to anxiety to pick a quarrel.
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