That is a clear issue. We only wish that it
could be kept clear. The Cabinet, however, and the party leaders and managers have obscured it on the side of the Government. To tell of the intrigues and manoeuvres by which the Prime Minister's anxieties have been increased would, even if we could give a complete and accurate account, be a disagreeable tale that is better forgotten. The Liberal supporters of the Government have been split by the rigid adherence of some to Free Trade. The right-thinking ones with a sense of propor- tion have said that Free Trade is not the first question of the moment ; to stand • by the Natic;nal Government against the OppositiOn is the one policy to follow. Mr. Lloyd George haS prornot,ed disunity' from his bed of sickness. Naturally so bonnie a fighter chafes at inaction, and we sympathize with him there, but he has not been helpful to his country. When such a profound and consistent Free Trader as Mr. Harold Cox can announce that he *would rather have a tariff than a change of Government now, a far less consistent Free Trader need not do harm by developing this rigidity of Mr. Lloyd George. * *
