The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22. 1908. TARIFF REFORM IN BRITAIN.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 101, 22 January 1908, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22. 1908. TARIFF REFORM IN BRITAIN.

The Unionist victory at the, Mid- t' Devon by-election was so clear and de- ii cisive, and disclosed.sucli a remarkable p change of public opinion', a great Lib- fl eral majority being converted into a t great Unionist majority in a v straight-out contest,, that we can well t believe that the Press of Great Britain c invests it with unusual importance. 1: There is not unanimity, however, in o the interpretations that have been C placed upon the result of the contest by c those journals pf whose opinions; we s published a cabled summary yesterday, <• The difficulty > thus preseuted to our 1 forming an accurate estimate of the \ progress of the Tariff Reform move- t ment is accentuated by the fact that i the Press opinions referred to are, with f one exception, taken from, the Unionist ,1 newspapers. Moreover, it is very diffi- c cult, in any event, to.decide whether.a Unionist majority at the polls is a victory for fiscal reform or a defeat for the Socialistic principles' which the Government has so largely adopted. Finally, even an unmistakable Tariff lleform vote would not be an unalloyed 1 victory for Unionism. _ s Complicated on one side by the in- ( trusiou of the anti-Socialistic issue, I and on the other by the deep line of < cleavage between the Free Trade and 1 Tariff Reform sections of the Unionist 1 party, the fiscal situation in Britain ' is well-nigh unintelligible. 1 The ' " Standard," the " Morning Post," < and the " Daily Telegraph,' as the i leading Tariffito journals, naturally ■ enough claim the result of the by-elec-t.ion as a victory for the fiscal reform- ! ers. 1 The " Daily Express," just how concentrating its fighting power upon the Socialists, no less naturally attributes the Liberal defeat to the public alarm at the prospect of Socialistic legislation. The "Tribune," which is lis'good a representative as any of Liberal opinion, admits that the verdict wa's a vote against Free Trade, and it calls upon the Free Traders to'display increased and incessant vigilance. As the "Daily Chronicle," a sober and acute observer from a non-partisan lookout, declares that the battle was "won fairly and squarely on Tariff Reform," we may suppose that the victory was indeed a victory for Protection. But no wide conclusions can be drawn therefrom. The recent speeches of Mr. Balfour, following upon his Birmingham conversion to fiscal reform, have no doubt done much to harden up the wobblers, as 'they have certainly inspired_ and stimulated the zeal of the Unionist right wing. The "Standard" suggests as much when it says that "Unionists have now a distinct programme, and are loyal to Mr. Balfour," but the "Morning Post" has still some doubts, and it makes the success of the Tariff Reform movement contingent on " unhesitating leadership, and efficient local candidates." "The Times" has more doubts than any, and it apparently refuses to commit itself to anything more than a cautious warning that "Unionists cannot hope to regain power until they compose the internal dissensions in their a party and present an unbroken front." In this judgment, as' in its notable warning to the Tariff Reformers, on November 13 last, to go slow, "The [ Times" is probably speaking for a i! wider constituency than either of the extreme wings of Unionism can command. V Internal dissensions" may bo "composed" in one of two ways: r either the Free Traders may give up 0 their principles, or the party may drop n the fiscal issue. It is obviously the latter course that "The Times" ad-

vises, and it is not unlikely that it is the course that will be adopted when the Unionist party begins to feel the pressure of the Radical forces that Mr. Winston Churchill, as a cable message reports this morning, declares will be made grggressively. ogerative*