One of the numerous charges levelled against Mr. Chamberlain was
that of having sent an electioneering telegram stating that "every seat won by the Liberals was a seat sold to the Boers." Mr. Chamberlain at once denied the accuracy of this version, but in view of the fact that on its arrival the message contained the incriminating words, his denial was impugned, and a demand made for the production of the telegram. Mr. Chamberlain replied by publishing a statement from the Birmingham Postmaster admitting that a mistake had been made in the transmission of the message, and confirming the accuracy of Mr. Chamberlain's statement that what he had written was not " sold to" but "gained to." Even this was not enough for Mr. Chamberlain's opponents, and the question was brought up in the House last Saturday, Mr. Chamberlain readily consenting to the production of the original telegram. As, however, Parliament was prorogued that day, and the document cannot be laid on the table till next Session, the Birmingham. Daily Mail, having obtained the consent of the Postmaster-General and Mr. Chamberlain, has inspected and photographed the telegram, a facsimile of which appears in its issue of Wednesday. The message is dated King's Heath, October 4th, and the words are as Mr. Chamberlain declared them to be. The incident would be hardly worthy of comment were it not illustrative of the extraordinary methods of the campaign of calumny of which Mr. Chamberlain is the object. His enemies seem to have adopted for their motto, with the necessary modification, the maxim of the Greek misogynist, "Do not believe a woman even when she speaks the truth."
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