Speaking at Glasgow on Wednesday, Sir Henry Campbell- Bannerman analysed
with great clearness the change in Mr. Chamberlain's attitude since the campaign began. The first proposal was a scheme of Imperial union, in which Protection was an incidental and trifling result; but now they heard very little of the Empire except in perorations. It was a case of the iron pot and the earthen vessel; the stronger had broken the weaker. The one scheme was based on sentiment, "distant, problematical, vapouring ; and by its side was set the protection of certain individual interests and industries and classes, the prospect of advantage to them being imme- diate, palpable, personal. Could they doubt, when one of these came to jostling the other, which of them would go to- the wail?" There could be no such thing as moderate Protection. If it once came to conciliating interests, every interest must be bought over, and a war would begin between organised interests and a nation of consumers, in which the consumer would be overcome.
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