Lord Rosebery then proceeded to develop an argument which must,
we feel sure, have made many of his Liberal and Free- trade auditors very uncomfortable. Taxation to supply money for the Bill, if it did not inevitably lead to Protection, would make a great many converts to Protection. "One great weekly journal had been fighting this Bill with all the courage of its intrepid editor on the ground that it must lead to Protection" (it may amuse our readers to hear that the reporter of the Times converted this phrase into that of "the courage of crambe repetiga"). Though Lord Rosebery would not go so far as that himself, be was, he declared, certain that if you screw rip direct taxation you will make more converts to the doctrine of Protection than all the speeches "of my honourable friend behind me, excellent as they are." Lord Rosebery passed next to the effect of the Bill on national defence. "I am beginning to think that this Empire may be at last destined to be wrecked by its finance. After all, the defence and maintenance of an Empire depend to a large extent on the defence it can extend to all its different parts." Lord Rose- bery ended his very impressive speech on this note. "The first responsibility of every country and every nation is national defence. I confess this prospect fills me with despair Surely the moment is ill-chosen for under- taking this vague experiment so prodigal of expenditure."
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