LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.
re.° THE EDITOR OF TUN " SPECTATOR:1 Srn,—When a Government falls into a decline its supporters are accustomed to take comfort by assuring themselves that even if they may have lost popularity their opponents have not gained it and that Charles will not be removed to make James king. They speak as if they had a monopoly of political talent, and as if the Government in other hands was unthink- able. It is an old device; it was used by Unionists in 1905; and it is used by Radicals to-day. But there is no reason why we should play our opponents' game by meekly accepting their view of the feeling in the country, and shaking wise heads over the doubtful prospects of the future. I honestly believe that the outlook for Unionism has not for twenty years been more hopeful, and my evidence is drawn from an extensive knowledge of what is regarded as a Radical strong- hold—the Scottish Lowlands. Scottish Radicalism has always been a curious product, based as much upon a feudal loyalty to the Gladstonian tradition as on any intelligent sympathy with modern Radicalism. The last few years have induced Scotsmen to consider the foundations of their faith, and I am inclined to think that the results will be surprising to those who take the Radical hegemony in Scotland for granted. The Scot has always been a stubborn individualist, and the new Radical bureaucracy has worn his patience thin. The Insurance Act is bitterly unpopular, mainly because of its fuss and extravagance and gross interference with private life. The Scottish Land Act has proved pretty much of a. fiasco, and few indeed will be found to defend the land taxes of the 1910 Budget. We dislike Radical policy for the same reasons as we disliked the early Tariff Reform propa- ganda—because we believe it to be bad business. Again, in the old days the strife between the voluntary and the Established Churches helped the Radical cause ; but Die- establishment has ceased to have much meaning north of the Tweed, and the old doctrines of the Liberation Society are as dead as Queen Anne. We are a democratic people who believe in self-government, and the plain man is conscious to-day that be has very little to say in the government of his country. The House of Lords grievance was used by Radicals at the last two elections with considerable effect, but that gun is spiked for good. Scotsmen have observed the results of the Parliament Act with little admiration, and they are resolved to insist on a Second Chamber, democratic in constitution, but with the full powers of a Second Chamber; for otherwise they cannot see how ordinary people are to have a voice in the Government. As a race we are not amenable to the cheaper kinds of political sentimentality, and such sentimentality smells rank since the Marconi business. Last and most important, Scotland is very far from being convinced of the merits of the Home Rule Bill. The other day a careful census was made in one of the staunchest Radical areas in the Lowlands, and the results were curious. Many were returned as Radicals, but surprisingly few would accept the term "Home Ruler," and those who did generally qualified it by adding "But no coercion of Ulster," or sought refuge in some phrase like "Believe in Federalism."
The consequence of this satiety with Radicalism is shown in the attitude of the Radical platform. Few Radical speakers attempt to argue any of the great public questions with their audiences. Except for the Lord Advocate, the Scottish Radical orator now confines himself to platitudes and pious hopes. And the private Radical, who used to be highly argumentative, is now a pensive being, profoundly averse to discussion. The younger men, especially the more thoughtful, are rarely in the Radical camp, and the so-called Young Scots —a buckram army at the best—are largely composed of elderly gentlemen who remember the Gladstonian tradition. I do not say that this recoil from Radicalism will make the bulk of the population Unionists. Socialism may claim many, though I do not think that Scotland is good Collectivist soiL But of one thing I am convinced—Scottish Radicalism is moribund, and if Unionism offers a sane and progressive creed it will gain a multitude of recruits. Possibly the results will not be fully apparent at the next election—we change even our labels slowly in the north, but the next twenty years, I believe, will see a complete reversal of the present position of
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