SPEECH BY MR BALFOUR.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12963, 16 November 1907, Page 9

SPEECH BY MR BALFOUR.

FISCAL RESOLUTION ENDORSED. i (Received November 16th, 12.1 a.m.) LONDON, November 15. Mr Balfour addressed 3500 people in the Hippodrome, Birmingham, in connection -with the Conference. Great enthueiasm was displayed. Mr BalfoiiT urged the need for u*hity, though it wae impossible to lay down in black and white jvhat constituted party loyalty. He insisted that tariff reform was gaining in strength slowly hero, rapidly tJiere, and continuously ovorywhero, bocaufie citizens were Ik.*--coming utterly discontented with the existing system. He liad always thought their commercial interests, but until the recent Conference h«ad entortnined doubts whether that policy was practicable when the co-opo ration of a. large number of units was required. It would be irrational to entertain such fears after what had occurred at the Conference. He was astonished at the complacency of Ministerial references to the debates at the Conference. Personally, ho thought Ministers hod cut a very poor figure at tho beginning of 1907. The temper of the self-govern-ing colonies was such that tho British Government might easily have concluded an arrangement enormously promoting Imperial intercommunication in commerce. Even if the British Government had been unable to do much, they might at least have expressed sympathy. Tho opportunity had been wantonly and recklessly thrown away. They had no right to complain if the colonies pursued' a commercial policy wherein the interests of tho Motherland had nt> place at nil. If the "Unionists wwo installed in office to-morrow, they would again pnimmon the Conference so hastily dissolved, and open the door so rnshly closed, and see if they could not do something towards the great ideal of Imperial unity which every responsible colonial statesman shared, with which the late Imperial Government sympathised, and for which Mr Chamberlain had done «o much. (Cheers.) He heartily subscribed to the fiscal resolution which the Conference had carried by acclamation. Any fiscal changes tho party might adopt would embody a comprehensive scheme equally advancing all the four great propositions contained in tho resolution. Ho declined to go into details, and declined to exclude from this alteration of taxation any article cf import except raw material. Any tax imposed must not augment the proportion paid by the working man. He admitted that tho growth of Socialism was a disquieting phenomenon. If successful it would be absolutely ruinous to the whole commnnity. That movement was best met by a constructive policy of wide social but

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it was impossible to execute such a policy on the present basis of taxation. Mr Austen Chamberlain said that after such a speech it was not Mr Balfour's fault if the party would not be able to pull together.