On Thursday in the Birmingham Town Hall Mr. Chamber- lain
addressed a mass meeting consisting of the Grand Com- mittee of the Birmingham, Aston, and Handsworth Liberal Unionist Associations. As all Free-traders who were not blind to the signs of the times knew must be the case, be made not the least attempt to withdraw from his Fiscal policy, but restated all the old paradoxes with his old vehemence. All our familiar friends of the stage army of last autumn were called to the muster-roll and loyally responded. There was the usual gibe at the Cobden Club's " romantic arithmetic." Next, that hoary veteran who once refused to take it "lying down" tottered up, and asked whether "we were going to remain for ever the football of foreign nations." Then "dumping" raised its ancient head and shook its gory locks, followed hard by the bogey of Mr. Cobden trying to dissolve the Empire. Then we had the wonderful patent impost which is going to tax the foreigner and fill our Exchequer, while keeping out foreign goods and not raising prices here. Next came the excess of imports over exports, " bleeding to death," and Mr. Cobden's prophecies. Finally appeared the "transient and embarrassed phantom" of the offer of the Colonies. But beside the parade of this ragged regiment there was little that was memorable in the speech. Mr. Chamberlain, however, defended the Government on the questions of education and Chinese labour, ;'and while insisting on the fact that the Unionist party was almost unanimous in favour of Retalia- tion, was careful not to use any phrases which could be em-
ployed to extort from the Prime Minister a premature dis- closure of his sympathies with the Chamberlain policy,—a significant fact, and one putting beyond doubt the oompaot or understanding which exists between Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Balfour.
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