TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE DUTY OF IMPERIALIST FREE-TRADERS.
IMPERIALIST and Unionist Free-traders have a clear JL duty before them,—a duty made imperative by Mr. Chamberlain's speech in the House of Commons. He has told. them in plain terms that he means to discuss his proposals for preferential duties throughout the constituencies, and that he will do his best to con- vert' the electors to a scheme which he deems vital to the interests of the Empire. We hold that Mr. Chamber- lain is doing a grave injury to the Empire by adopting this course. Not only is his scheme likely to cause direct injury to the Empire, but it is certain, if pressed to an issue, to break up the Unionist party, and so to do a great indirect injury to the Imperial cause. The Unionist party has always had the welfare and the interests of the Empire specially at heart. We do not, of course, mean to say that the rival party is in any sense opposed to the Empire, but hitherto the Unionist party may claim with Eustice to have thought more and cared more about the mpire. If, then, this great party is to be broken in pieces, as assuredly it will be if Mr. Chamberlain insists on pursuing his present course of action, the injury to the Empire will be twofold. It is useless to argue that, therefore, Unionist Free-traders should acquiesce in Mr. Chamberlain's policy, and so avoid the dismemberment of the party. How- ever grave they may think the injury that must ensue should the party unhappily break up, they cannot keep silent, for they feel that the free and well-founded Empire which now exists, and of which we are all so justly proud, could not be carried on under the system of " tied-house " Imperialism. No compromise is possible, even for those who in ordinary cases are most anxious for compromise. Possibly Mr. Chamberlain may feel exactly similar forces impelling him on his course. He may believe that the Empire cannot live without his Protectionist proposals. In that case, there-is nothing for it but to fight the battle old and let the better side win. We cannot, however, at this stage abandon the hope that Mr. Chamberlain, when he learns that the Unionist party as a whole will not accept his proposals, will feel that he must withdraw from the position he has so rashly taken up. Happily, he can still do so without loss of political honour. He must know that if . he • cannot carry with him practically the whole Unionist party—if, that is, any considerable section of the party is determined to oppose his project at all costs —that project is doomed to failure, and he must, therefore, as a practical politician, abandon it. Hence it is the first duty of those men of light and leading in the Unionist party who feel as we do to organise their adherents, and to give public and emphatic expression to the fact that the policy of preferential duties cannot be put before the country without breaking up the Unionist party. If, that is, the leaders of the two Protectionist groups, Mr. Chaplin and Mr. Lowther, representing those who desire taxes on food on behalf of the landed interests, and Mr. Chamber- lain and his supporters, representing those who hope to unite the Empire more closely by preferential duties on food and - other Colonial products, begin their task of trying to convert the country, we Imperialist Free-traders must be ready on the 'instant to take up the challenge, and to show the electors that not only are they being asked to accept taxation on food in the false hope that wages may rise, but that they are being asked to accept it in order to produce a thing which it also cannot possibly produce,—a stronger, more stable, and more united Em • But we cannot be ready to meet a Protectionist with an Imperial Free-trade propaganda unless we are organised. Therefore the failure of Mr. Chamberlain to withdraw from the position he has taken up will necessi- tate organisation on our side. That organisation need not necessarily be aggressive till the other side tako the .field, but we must know at once who are willing _to be our leaders and who are on our side. There must be a rallying - point and a standard raised ' round which, if the combat is joined, Imperialist Free-traders may gather. We cannot allow the other side the possibility of improving their position :by reaching the electors in advance of us. We • say this, not because we are in fact afraid of the electors being converted by Mr. Chamberlain, but because the matter at stake is so vital that we dare not place any lazy reliance in the strength of our own side. When a cause is vital, be its strength never so great, we must not give those who oppose it the slightest advantage. What is precious beyond expression cannot be guarded too anxiously. Free-traders may be confident in the immense strength of their position, but they must not let that confidence mislead them into inaction.
There is a secondary reason why Imperialist and Unionist. Free-traders who realise what must be the consequences to, the Empire of Mr. Chamberlain's policy should come forward' and make their protest in unison. If they are sound and. loyal members of their party, they must not leave the safeguarding of the Empire from the Protectionist danger to the Liberal party alone. They must claim and exercise tho right to forbid the abandonment of Free-trade before it becomes an ordinary party issue. If Mr. Chamberlain and his supporters are forced to abandon their scheme by reason of Liberal, and not of Unionist, opposition, a great injury will be done to the Unionist party. In that case the Unionist party will be ticketed as a Protectionist party, and the electors will be told, and will most naturally believe, that it was only owing to the Liberal Opposition that the Unionist party did not adopt Protection. They will hold that we were saved from taxes on the food of the people solely by the Liberals. But nothing from the party view could be more dangerois than this. Once allow this idea to prevail, and the prospects of Unionist candidates will be irretrievably ruined in hundreds of constituencies. In other words, once let the " little loaf " label be affixed to the Unionists with any show of reason, and the electoral prospects of the party will have received a crushing blow. The only way to prevent such labelling is for a compact body of earnest Unionists, of men of whose party loyalty there can be no doubt, to come forward and insist that Mr. Chamberlain's policy shall not be placed before the nation as part of the Unionist programme. If tho Unionist Free - traders were to fail in their protest, the cause they have at heart would have lost nothing. If they succeed, as we believe they will, they will have gained the incalculable party advantage of.having prevented the Unionist party being ticketed as the party of Protection. As good party men, then, as well as friends of the Empire, it behoves all Unionists who disagree with Mr. Chamberlain's views to strive to the utmost to prevent this fatal labelling of the Unionist party.
One word more. What we have said as to the need of Imperial Free-traders asserting themselves at once, and preparing a Free-trade organisation to meet a Protec- tionist propaganda, does not apply to those Imperial Free- traders who are at present in the Government. It is by no means to the interest of the cause we have at heart that they should join in the immediate protest of which we have spoken. They can best serve the cause by remaining in the Administration and exercising that restraining influence of which it so much stands in need. If they were to leave the Government now, that irrevocable breach in the party which we so intensely desire to prevent must take place at once. While they remain in office the breach is avoided. Unionists not in office can protest and can form an ad hoc organisation within the party without breaking it up. Resignations of members either of the Cabinet or of the Government would be a declaration of war. Of course Free-trade members of the Government must resign if any definite Protec- tionist act is taken or any vote is insisted on. But Mr. Balfour has in effect assured us that nothing of the kind will happen, and that discussion, and discussion alone, is at present contemplated. Therefore the duty of Free-trade members of the Administration is what we have just described. They must remain at their posts and make it clear to the country that neither the Unionist party nor the Government is as yet Protectionist, and that neither will be allowed to become so without a struggle which, if it were to take place, must shake our political system to its very foundations.
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