Mr. Chamberlain made a second speech at Newcastle on Wednesday.
We can only notice two points. The first was his statementin regard to the Cabinets of September 14th and 15th, —namely, that whatever any member of the Cabinet may have beard or have thought, he had distinctly declared that unless the policy of preferential tariffs was accepted by the Govern- ment, he could not continue in the Cabinet. This sounds simple enough; but the Westminster Gazette, with the pre- cision and clear insight which have proved so annoying to the Protectionists in the present controversy, mercilessly points out that this explanation is wholly inconsistent with Mr. Chamberlain's letter to Mr. Balfour of September- 9th, for there he launched no ultimatum, but, on the contrary, strongly urged that it would be best for the Government to limit itself to retaliation, while allowing him to resign and to devote himself to his propaganda. Clearly some explanation is needed to reconcile these statements.
Previous page
