The chief surprise was the appointment of Mr. Churchill as
Chancellor of the Exchequer. We cannot help reading into this appointment a definite hope. We all know that Mr. Churchill is in many respects incalculable, just PAGE because he is adventurous and restless, and the country must expect some of the dangers inherent in his qualities ; but apart from all that we take this appointment to mean that Mr. Baldwin intends to place his policy upon a very broad foundation. That is excellent. Mr. Churchill has always professed himself a Free Trader. No doubt, like other Free Traders who arc not absolute slaves of a doctrine, he may be willing for the sake of certain great ends or high causes to impinge upon the pure doctrine of _ Free Trade in exceptional cases. For example, he might think it worth while to make an economic sacrifice—for such it would be—to satisfy the Dominions ; or he- might use the Safeguarding of Industries Act to restore confidence in a particular industry. He would do such things as a matter of expediency, not of principle.
