Mr. Chamberlain, leaving the main political issue, spoke with confidence
of the material resources of the new Colonies, where the value of land had immensely increased since the con- clusion of peace. In the Cape the assurances of both great political parties gave promise of a better future. Even since his departure from South Africa Mr. Hofmayr's interven- tion had resulted in a better state of feeling. Speaking at the luncheon which followed, Mr. Balfour paid a fine tribute to the services of his colleague. He knew of no purely peace- ful event which had so touched the imagination of the country as Mr. Chamberlain's mission, which had been fruit- ful in results impossible of achievement by despatches or correspondence. In conclusion, be contrasted the Mr. Chamber- lain as unscrupulously maligned by his hostile critics two or three years ago—the firebrand and troubler of nations—with the man who was now justly regarded as deserving above all others in this Empire the blessings pronounced on the peacemaker.
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