To Mr. Chamberlain's letter published in the Times of Good
Friday, Lord Randolph Churchill replied by a very acrid effusion to " My dear Chamberlain," which appeared in last Tuesday's Times. The new fact stated is that on April 2nd, the day on which the Conservative request to Lord Randolph Churchill to become a candidate was presented to him, the Birmingham Daily Post contained a leading article in which Mr. J. A. Bright's claims " were frankly, though with regret, withdrawn," and in which Lord R. Churchill's candidature was accepted " in language most courteous and friendly, and naturally most agreeable to me to read." And this view was, says Lord Randolph, confirmed by Alderman Johnson's speech at the Liberal Unionist meeting, and by Mr. Powell Williams's conversation with Mr. Rowlands. Lord Randolph states, how- ever, that on the same Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Chamberlain's language on the subject of his candidature, far from confirming the language of the Birmingham Daily Post, conveyed a totally opposite impression, and we have no doubt that Mr. Chamber- lain, in so speaking, spoke from knowledge and not from conjec- ture. Lord Randolph then goes on to state that Mr. Chamber- lain has endeavoured to "embroil" him with his friends in Birmingham, " by insinuating and seeking to make it appear that I have played fast and loose with them." Lord Randolph further intimates that the Birmingham Tories could annihilate Liberal Unionism in Birmingham by running candidates of their own in all the divisions, and he taunts Mr. Chamberlain with believing that he can " catch Conservative votes with vinegar," and that the Conservatives ought to be proud to be mere hewers of wood and drawers of water for the Liberal Unionists. He invites Mr. Chamberlain to moderate his exaggerated pretensions, and to study a more respectful attitude towards his Conservative allies. The letter, in fact, might be summarised as Lord Randolph Churchill's attempt to pinch and scratch Mr. Chamberlain into polite behaviour.
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