TOPICS OF THE DAY.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN AND THE UNIONIST FREE-TRADERS. THE last stage in the capture of the Unionist Party by Mr. Chamberlain has come. In his speech to the Liberal Union Club on Friday, May llth, Mr. Chamber- lain made it abundantly clear that, in his opinion, there is no longer any place for a Free-trader in the Unionist Party. As the Daily Mail, which may be regarded as representing Mr. Chamberlain's views in the matter, put it, " Free Traders must leave the Unionist Party." That was the title of the Daily Mail's leader on Mr. Chamberlain's speech. " Henceforward," said the article, " those Unionists who do not accept Fiscal Reform will be outside the ranks of the official party. The logical results of unity will be enforced, and all who are not for the creed of the party must depart from its fold. There is a test question which all true Unionists must accept, and this test question is Fiscal Reform." Those who read Mr. Chamberlain's speech and studied its spirit will not feel inclined to deny that the Daily Mail fairly represents the wishes of the Unionist leader, for he declared that " we have a right to put that shibboleth to every candidate for our favours, and to say : ' Do you accept this ? This is the official minimum.'" It is true that Mr. Chamberlain added a few half-hearted limitations, out of courtesy, no doubt, to Mr. Balfour ; but the meaning, nevertheless, was perfectly plain, and it is that expressed by the Daily Mail. Very significant, also, in this context, was the comparison that he made between the state of things which existed when the Liberal Union Club met a year ago and that which exists now. " Then," said Mr. Chamberlain, " it was open for any individual to say: 'My views are really the views of one of my leaders, if not of both. My views are the views of Mr. Balfour, or my views are the views of Mr. Chamber- lain,'—because neither the views of Mr. Chamberlain nor of Mr. Balfour had been brought together up to that time. Now they have been brought together, now we are abso- lutely unanimous, and I congratulate the Liberal Union Club and every Liberal Unionist Association on the solu- tion at which we have arrived, and which will enable us to go either to a by-election or a General Election with a united official programme."
We cannot say that the notice to quit thus given to the Unionist Free-traders surprises us. We always felt sure that such notice was only a matter of time, and that Mr. Balfour's surrender, or rather acknowledgment, on February 14th of his position in regard to Tariff Reform was certain to be followed by action such as that now taken by Mr. Chamberlain. Mr. Chamberlain had every reason to prosecute a policy of no mercy to the Unionist Free- traders ; and, since he is essentially a man of strong courses, it was obvious that, being in a position to dominate Mr. Balfour and the party, he was not going to allow what he regards as mutiny and treason. That Mr. Chamberlain's speech was not a piece of mere rhetoric is, again, made perfectly clear by what is going on within the party organisation. A committee has been appointed to reorganise the party, and this committee is entirely composed of Tariff Reformers. In view of these facts, it is idle to pretend 'that Mr. Chamberlain has not the power to do what the Daily Mail says he is doing and applauds him for doing,—that is, to give notice to the Free-traders that they must leave the Unionist Party.
It remains to be considered what step should be taken by Unionist Free-traders. The proverbial three courses are evidently open to them. They can accept Mr. Chamber- lain's notice, and leave the party ; or they can refuse to do so, and from within the party carry out to the best of their ability a policy of resistance to Mr. Chamberlain and Tariff Reform-' or, finally, they can take Mr. Chamberlain's notice "lying down," and either sink their Free-trade views altogether, or else endorse the policy of Tariff Reform in public, though at heart they may remain Free-traders. As .far as we are concerned, we have no sort of difficulty in deciding which course to take and which course to urge upon Unionist Free-traders. In our opinion, they must resolve that they will remain Unionists, and remain also members of the Unionist Party, though no doubt non- conforming members, and from that position continue to offer all the resistance in their power to Mr. Chamber- lain's policy. We shall of course be told that in coun- selling this we are counselling the impossible, and that no man can remain a member of the Unionist Party merely by saying that he is a Unionist. If the majority of the ,party refuse to recognise him as a member, he ipso facto ceases to be a member. Possibly this is the only logical statement of the case. We do not desire, at any rate, to dispute it just now. For present pur- poses it is enough for us to say that what we mean by advising Unionist Free-traders to remain in the party is that they should not formally and of their own free will abandon it and become members of the Liberal Party. Let them, as we have said, be non- conforming Unionists if they cannot be anything else. Though, in order to enforce their views, they may on occasion find it right and expedient to vote with the Liberal Party, let them do so as Unionists and not as Liberals. Further, let them strengthen and expand their own organisation in every possible way. Let them make it clear to the world that a man not only has a right to be, but can be, both a Free-trader and a Unionist. Finally, let them show that a Free-trade Unionist, though he opposes Tariff Reform, can also oppose, and will oppose, all and any of the dangerous forms of Socialistic legis- lation which the present Government seem inclined, to adopt, and in regard to which Mr. Chamberlain is apparently anxious to enter into competition with them at some future date. There never was a time when it was more necessary for those who take a sane, a moderate, and a patriotic view of public affairs to resist absolutely the notion that they must declare themselves either to be followers of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman or of Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Balfour. That is a dilemma which the party politicians of the Tariff Reform League take great pains and pleasure in forcing upon Unionist Free- traders ; but it is one which must be resolutely and absolutely rejected.
It will no doubt be urged in opposition to what we have written that we are in effect encouraging the formation of a third party. In normal times none could object more strongly than we to the formation of a third party, for we greatly dislike the group system, and believe that democracy works best under a regular dual-party system such as we have enjoyed since the re-formation of the Congervative Party after its clacicle during the Corn Law period. These, however, are not normal times, and until they become again normal we are perfectly willing to accept the responsibility of urging upon Unionist Free-traders a course which may result in the formation of a third party. There must be a place in our public life for sane, moderate, and conservative men,—using " conservative" iu the widest sense ; and if, as unfortunately at present is the case, there is no room for such men in either of the two old parties, then perforce a Left-Centre party must be formed. Men of the kind of which we speak cannot possibly serve under the banner which Mr. Chamberlain has raised, the banner of Protection coupled with the most dangerous and insidious forms of Socialism.— Remember, Mr. Chamberlain has hinted clearly that his programme is to pass great and expensive so-called social reforms, and to find the money for such State action by a general tariff. In other words, we are first to empty the Treasury by reckless and demoralising expenditure, and then to fill it again by a fiscal policy which must drain away the very life-blood of trade and commerce.—Again, though the Liberal Party is a Free-trade party, and though we recognise its loyalty to that cause with grati- tude, we are bound, if we are sincere, to declare that no Unionist Free-trader should join a party the majority of which is willing to accept the kind of proposals that have been accepted by the present Parliament,—proposals for old-age pensions, for payment of Members, for the acceptance of the principle of " One man one vote without the acceptance of its correlative, " One vote one value," and for placing the Trade-Unions above the law. We are willing, at the same time, to admit that' the Government are in most cases a great deal wiser and saner than their supporters, and we would infinitely prefer the present Government to a Government headed or dominated by Mr. Chamberlain and the Tariff Re- formers. The present Government can at any rate be held in check by the Upper House, whereas a Tariff Reform Government would have the nation completely at their mercy.
Our advice, then, to Unionist Free-traders is the advice which we have given them during the last three years:— "Remain both Unionists and Free-traders ; organise your- selves into a group which, even though small to begin with, will always command the attention and respect of the nation ; and bide your time, assured that in the end the best and sanest part of the nation will rally to you and your views." We are as confident now as at any time since Mr. Chamberlain started his propaganda that England is, and means to remain, both 'Unionist and Free- trade, and, moreover, that the mass of Englishmen, though they may tolerate a great deal of unwise talk and a certain amount of unwise action in regard to Socialism, are at heart anti-Socialist. This is our firm belief, and it is this belief which assures us that the future lies with the Unionist Free-traders, provided only that they have courage enough and self-confidence enough to keep together and act together. Mr. Chamberlain and the Tariff Reformers have, in reality, only one chance of winning,—the chance that Unionist Free-traders may throw up the sponge and admit that a man cannot be both a Unionist and a Free-trader, and that, in fact, it is necessary for the elector to choose whether he will be a Chamberlainite or a Campbell- Bannermanite. Once admit that these are the only alternatives, and unquestionably the swing of the pen- dulum will ultimately bring Mr. Chamberlain and his friends into power.
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