Mr. Chamberlain resumed his Fiscal campaign at Gains- borough on
Wednesday, after an interval clouded by a severe domestic bereavement which has elicited the genuine sympathy of supporters and opponents alike. He disclaimed all party or personal gain in engaging in the present controversy; his main motives were, as they always had been, consideration for the well-being of the people and the future of the Empire, which was rather a great potentiality—the greatest ever given to man—than a true union. It had been won by sacrifices, and could only be maintained by sacrifices such as Mr. Cobden and the Little Englanders were unprepared to make.—It is interesting to note in this context that when Mr. Chamberlain began his Fiscal campaign he declared that no sacrifice whatever would be asked from the nation, though he almost wished it could be as a sign of earnestness.—If we allowed the ties which bound us to the Colonies to be weakened, we should lose not only our best customers, but our most promising market.. The state of trade showed that, though the country was getting richer, the number of the unemployed was growing greater. The Colonies had proved their loyalty in the South African War, and their desire for closer union by making an offer—the existence of which could only be denied by people of ineradicable stupidity —and by granting preferences, which in the case of Canada had increased our trade by nearly six millions a year. It was now time for the Motherland to show loyalty to the Colonies, instead of refusing to negotiate at all.
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