The Birthday honours announced on Wednesday cannot be regarded as
in any sense memorable or important. No Peer is made, but there are one new Privy Councillor, five new Baronets, and grant' new Knights. Within the Unionist party the list has been closely scrutinised with a view of determining whether it was a Chamberlain or a Balfour honour list. Though the Chamberlain honours do not pre- dominate in quite so marked a degree as in the last list, it is still evident that those who desire titles had better be Chamberlainites than Balfourites. It is true that the party Whip, Sir Alexander Acland-Hood, becomes a Privy.
Councillor, and that he is a Balfourite; but a cynic might suggest that Mr. Chamberlain could not but be well satisfied with the way in which the central organisation managed the Southampton Conference, and failed to make any effective protest against the adoption of a person of Sir John Cockburn's views as the party candidate at West Monmouth.
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