It is with a sense of deep satisfaction that we
record the resignation of the Duke of Devonshire. We felt certain that the moment he realised the position in which he was placed he would quit the Cabinet, and events have amply justified our belief in the straightforwardness and good sense of the Duke, as well as in his devotion to the cause of Free-trade. The letter tendering his resignation, and Mr. Balfour's re- joinder, appeared in Tuesday's papers. Writing on October 2nd, the Duke specifically attributes his resolve to reconsider his position to the general tone and tendency of Mr. Balfour's speech at Sheffield on the previous Thursday. It was unneces- sary to describe the great controversy of 1846 as of no interest except from an historical point of view, or to assert a desire to alter fundamentally the fiscal tradition which has pre- vailed during the last two generations." He had hoped for an explicit declaration of adherence to the principles of Free- trade as the ordinary basis of our fiscal and commercial system, and an equally explicit repudiation of the principle of Protection. The absence of such declarations was bound to encourage the advocates of direct Protection, and to discourage those who, like himself, without making a fetish of Free-trade, believed the present system of free imports, and especially of food imports, to be on the whole the most advantageous to the country. Mr. Balfour had said that the subject could not be left an open question among members of the Government. In these circumstances the Duke of Devonshire thought he had said enough to prove to Mr. Balfour that there was no longer such agreement between them as to make it possible for him to be a satisfactory exponent of the Premier's views or those of the Government in the debates which must inevitably take place in the next Session. He concluded with an expression of deep regret, and of anxiety at the cleavage in the Unionist party which must result from "the unexpected scope and strength " of Mr. Balfour'S declarations at Sheffield.
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