27 NOVEMBER 1909, Page 3

Towards the conclusion of his speech Lord Balfour inci- dentally

dropped what appears to ns a very wise remark. He declared that in some respects the claims of both Houses of Parliament have been put too high by their respective admirers and supporters. The claim of the Liberal Party, in effect, came to this : " You are to have no Second Chamber, and you are to have no Referendum, because it will interfere with the power of the party organisation to get legislation out of Parliament." In other words, you are not to have legislation that the people want. " They are to take what the party managers give them." Lord Balfour ended with an amusing nigger story. A negro evangelist in the course of his sermon declared that there were only two paths in life,—one leading to death and the other to damna- tion. "In that case this nigger will have to take to the woods," was the comment of an alert member of his audience. "I propose to take to the woods," was Lord Balfour's conclusion.