On Thursday was published a letter addressed to Lord Lich-
field by the Duke of Devonshire, in which he points out that Mr. Chamberlain has become President of the new Liberal Unionist Council, that the Vice-Presidents and Executive Council have no Free-traders amongst them, and that a reso- lution has been passed approving of Preferential Tariffs, and therefore of the taxation of food. " Judging from these cir- cumstances," continues the Duke, " I have come to the con- clusion that the Liberal Unionist Council, as now organised
will be utilised for the purpose of promoting the principles of the Tariff Reform League throughout the country. I shall not therefore join the new Council, and my advice to those Liberal Unionists who share my opinion upon Free-trade is that they should also refuse to do so. But this negative policy will not suffice, and I trust that Free-trade will find active support from within the ranks of the Unionist party. The means by which this can best be accomplished are now under consideration." We trust that there will be no delay in acting upon this sound conclusion. Meantime we are glad to see that the new Unionist Free-Trade Club is making steady progress, and that it has already received the active help of a considerable number of Conservative Free-trade Members of Parliament. If its work is pushed fearlessly forward, and its efforts are not sterilised by indecision and half-hearted policies—we have every reason to hope that it will not succumb to these influences—the Unionist Free-Trade Club may secure its double object of maintaining both Free-trade and the Union, and of inducing Unionist Free-traders, instead of leaving the Unionist party and joining the Liberals, to prepare for the time when the Unionist party can be reconstructed on a Free-trade basis.
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