We should give a false impression of our own opinion
of Mr. Stanley Baldwin if we dwell too much upon the inevitability of the choice. The man whom circumstances made inevitable as Prime Minister is also the right man in the right place, and all Unionists who believe that their Party has a great and useful part to perform in the State should, and we believe do, feel a very real confidence in Mr. Stanley Baldwin, both because of his personal character and because of the ideals which he represents. We had, in fact, reached the turning-point in the fortunes of the Unionist Party. If through mis- fortune, blundering, intrigue or personal jealousies Mr. Baldwin had not been chosen, or had not been willing to be chosen, the future of Unionism would have been gravely imperilled. Instead of proving a source of stability to our public life, the Unionist Party might have become involved in quarrels and disputes, and might have broken up into a series of impotent groups governed by personal instead of public considerations.
