FISCAL DISPUTE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 610, 13 September 1909, Page 7

FISCAL DISPUTE.

.TARIFF REFORMERS V. FREE-FOODERS TRUCE IN FOUR SEATS. .UNIONIST LEADERS' AGREEMENT. iliy Telegraph.—l'rcaa ' London, September 1 10. A, further stage lias been reached in, the struggle between tho Tariff Reform and the ! Froe-fooder ,wings of tho Unionist party, the former. ,of v/hom''has been seeking, to , exclude the latter in tho Jjopo, of getting a purely Tariff Reform majority for tho Unionists at the next general elections. ' The; Unionist leaders/have readied an '■ agreement by which four leading. Unionist j Free-traders or Free-fooders, Lord -Robert ] Ceci| (East Marylebone),. Mr. G. S. Bowles •, (Norwood), Mr. F. W. Lambton, (South- . ]3ast Durham), and Mr. Abel Smith (Hertford), will not be opposed at the next general election. . ■ ; • ,Thjß Unionist associations .in' the consti-' tuencies' are now to bo approached with'.a view, to obviating Tariff Reform opposition to .sitting members, belonging to tho: "freefood" branch of the Unionistparty. . LEADERS AND; THE "CONFEDERATES. 1 ' . LORD R. • CECIL'S POLICT. If the recent tone of the "Confederates"— the extreme Unionist Tariff, Reformers who are trying to exclude the Unionist Free-fooders—is not .'purposely .forced, they may not Cbe deterred from their purpose even by "an aereernent among the Unionist lenders." The 'Con-', federates" are a somewhat mySteious body pf militant Tariff Reformers," and seem, to have : fuliv: realised thnt their peculiar organisation. might .become subversive of. party, discipline. Aii avowal of thoir policy, "by One of Them," was recently publislicd in The Dominion,'and set'.,out. with engaging' franknpM their; determination to exterminate the Unionist Freefoodersi : "Under the , rules which govern us," stilted the writer, "any 'Confederate' may. de-. Clare, liimself;,if. he wishes io do, so, but none may reveal the nnnies of his nssociotes.". The "Confederates," •he adds, will "remove ~ theofficial heads of the party aliko from the necessity and: the .suspicion" in secuiing the r'epre-. seiitatioh of 'tftrilf reform viows, in the Commons, "and will,:with lesS responsibility, perluips, but 'with' not less effect,' take up. the work of safeguarding tariff reform'interests in. constituencies which their' Free-trade. metnbera. presume to regard, as pocket boroughs."" Some Leading Free-fooders. " -j- ; '. Tho writer -admitted interference,in two, of the constituencies mentioned in the cablegram. Ho '/wfote: "In ' the. Lambeth division i.of' Norwood -Mr.,'Bowles has had notice, to.quit and a Tariff Reform Unionist will replace ,liim. In; East' Herts tho local association has decided: to replace Mr. AbellSmitli by .n oandidato who - is-in hvmpathy with the views 'of the elector; ate.V . in' 'West Dorset Colonel .Williams" has coinp into line, and there is reason to hope, that a satisfactory understanding will be come to with Jfr. Hicks: Beabh in the Tewkesbury division of Gloucestersliire. Wo,lava not l intervened in any way in 'tile dispute now raging m East Marylebone. No Confederate; has taken anv part in it. Our intervention has i not been : required; Lord, Robert Cecil's exquisite genius foi'' giving has made : it quito, unneces-' sary for anyone outside: the constituency, to em' | pliasise'.tho differences which.exist:in'it, or. to . reinforce the growing Btre'ngtli'.of ..the - oppo-' 1 sitioh-to its; continued representation:in Parr ! i liament by a member .u-Jio is passionately .opi' posed to tho views, of .the. great majority of lus | constituents.", ; : : I Disloyalty to Mr. Balfour. i • Lord Robert.Cecil hints that tho "Confeder-ates"-havo! not; been'unprepared to tilt at tho ' Unionist Leader himself.'' He 6tatcd in' a;reccnt I' speech: "The people who are now so anxious to . drive me'out of tie party are . tho .very people . wli'o a few months.ago we're Using very.thinlyI veiled', words .'suggesting that. Mr._Ralfour bo removed :from" tho : , leadership.". ; The: gradual approaoh 'of' Mri Balfour towards tho Tariff jv RMorm': 6fandpointiihhS'(bebn'"the,ioutstanding feature,- oh;the struggle.*' Defining, liis oVn. ■ fiscal position,; Lord Robert Cecil says;, I/am. m .favour of retaliation,' that is to say, tho ' (Jxertion'of diplomatio .ptessure, ,and;Mf :neces- < sary,. the . imposition :of .' retaliatory;'import -duties, in order.to- compel.foreign: countries i.to '• abolish,or lower th'oir'tariffs'against us.^/■ -But i' I ain • opposed: to. the .imposition ofduties in ordor' to ralso prices or restrict freo compotiou in our own markets; 1 earnestlv desiro the Consolidation of our Empire and. the drawing 5 clo c cr of tho colonics to tho Motlier Country* i, and ain prepared to . consider any fiscal; ) .proposals'with that'object. .-But jl do not be-, s lieve that a system of preferences based on ; the taxation of corn and meat would have tho, ) desired'effect.'" 1 A Line of Compromise... , '

1 ' Much, of course,' will dejiend-on.the.decisiona of tho local Unionist'associations.':.lt lias teen stated in Unionist-paporß/that if-:;aJo«il association selects a 'candidate .who is not a Tarilr Reformer, the Central- Office of' the organisa:! .tion-i will not veto - snob selection a' Tariff Reformer against the, man selected. But the "Confederates" may still electto he a law unto themselves.- A largo section of \the less. militant: Tariff Reformers; will, hbwover, probably be inclined to' compromise, at: any. rato, in the oaso of such notable Free-foodei's, as ■ those mentioned in tbe cablegram.-. 1 Such a line of compromiso seems''to bo suggested, in a statement mado by the secretary of the Im: perial./Tariff Reform Committee, * Mr. C. A. yince,/'who said that While ho believed' only avowed Tariff Reformers would; bo' chosen by; Unionist associations / seeking new candidates, such strong personalities as . Lord Robert Cecil and the Hon. -I?. ,W. Lambton presented a diflicult proposition. ; They could not be thrown ; over btcauße of their Frw-food views, but with a . stnall majority; the Unionist Governmentwould bo embarrassed by thorn.- " ' .-'. //