At a special general meeting of the Unionist Free-Trade Club
held in London on Tuesday, the Duke of Devonshire addressed his followers on the future policy of the Unionist Free-trade party. After pointing out that the victory for Free-trade had not been won exclusively by Liberal votes, but that Unionist votes had contributed to the result, he men- tioned that of the hundred and fifty-six Unionist Members returned to Parliament one hundred and two are classed as Tariff Reformers, thirty-six as followers of Mr. Balfour, while only sixteen can be classed as more or less determined advocates of Free-trade. Though this result must be eminently unsatis- factory to the Unionist Free-traders, it could hardly be satis- factory to Mr. Balfour himself. As to Mr. Balcones letter, he declared that "the ordinary brain almost reels in the effort to discover whether the main proposals or the qualifications which are attached to it are the more important." Each man must use his own judgment in that matter ; but he was bound to say for himself that the qualifications did not substantially alter the view which he had for some time been compelled to entertain,—viz., that Mr. Balfour is in substantial, if not in Complete, agreement with Mr. Chamberlain on the subject of Tariff Reform.
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