MR. BALFOUR'S SPEECH.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 09, 11 January 1908, Page 13

MR. BALFOUR'S SPEECH.

On Thursday evening Mr. Balfour made his much-canvassed speech to the gathering of Unionist delegates at Birmingham. After declaring that it was impossible to lay down rules as to parly loyalty, and making an appeal to "every man not to exercise a tyrannous jurisdiction over those who may feel difficulties about this or that item of the programme," ho declared that Fiscal Eefoim was gaining strength. (Note tho significant fact that Mr. Balfour resolutely refuses to adopt the formula "Tariff Reform.") Next, he insisted that if tho Unionists were to come into power to-morrow, thoir first duty would be to summon another Colonial Conference — «* decision which, as wo explain elsewhere, carries with it certain consequences upon which Tariff Reformers may well look askance, Mr. Balfour went on to lay down four principles which must govern any attempt to broaden the basis of taxation :—"(1): — "(1) Your duties should be widespread. (2) They should be small. (3) They should not touch raw material. (4) They should not alter the proportion in which the working classes are asked to contribute to the cost of government." In the latter part of his speech, Mr. Balfour turned to the question of Socialism. Though he is, no doubt, a convinced anti-Socialist, we cannot help wishing that he had used somewhat firmer language in regard to those who foolishly imagine that Socialism can be fought by conceding half the Socialist programme, and by consequently pil;ng upon iho backs of the middle class, and indeed of the hard-working section of every class uf the community, an intolerable .burden of taxation. The Union_ist Party, said Mr. Balfpur, nujsfr deal

with "the condition of the workers in urban and rural districts, the increase of small ownership, the complete remodelling of the Poor Law, the attempt to deal with the mighty problem of old ago." That programme is, of course, open to a perfectly harmless, nay, a beneficial, interpretation, but it also is open to one not a little injurious to the body politic. It will be the duty of soberminded Unionists to see ig> it that it is the benignant interpretation which shall prevail. Mr. Balfour's speech was not in any sense an epoch-making utterance. Its main object was to gain time^ — to "wait till the cloirds roll byl" MR. BIRRELL ON IRELAND. Mr. Birrell addressed a large Liberal meeting at Southampton on Tuesday, and devoted most of liis speech to a defence of his administration of Ireland. He described the cattle-driving in Roscommon aud Galway as an illegal conspiracy, a reprehensible and dishonest practice, _ which,' unless it was checked, must bring great disaster on Ireland, because it would inevitably tend to frustrate the working out of the laud-pur-chase system of 1903 and prevent the issue of land stock. If this cattle- driving continued on the present scale., all his schemos and purposes would be endangered, and he doubted very much whether he would be able to give them effect. It was false to say that either he or the Government had condoned or made light of these offences. They were doing, all they could, within the powers of tne law, to put them down. They had proceeded against four hundred per- i sons, and had bound over a hundred and j fifty-nine persons to keep the peace. But I it was not easy to catch the culprits, and when they wei'c caught, although the stipendiary magistrates did their duty, they were not supported by the ex officio magistrates, who either overruled the stipendiaries or stayed away to avoid being boycotted for doing their duty. The graziers themselves., again, did not come to the assistance of the police in the way they ought to do. Mr. Birrell concluded his speech, by repeating that the Government was doing its best to put this thirig down. At the same time, he would not be bulliod or cajoled by any persons or newspapers here or in Ireland into a departure from a course which he believed would result bsfqre long in a complete restoration of order in ' Ireland, and in enabling the Liberal Government to continue in its path of extending to the Irish people educational and religious , reforms, and in time to come the right of self -government. It i 3 satisfactory to learn that Mr. Birrell at last fully realises the seriousness of the situation in Ireland. But iit is hard to reconcile his general optimism as to the adequacy of the means employed to restore order with his admissions a3 to the dimensions of the evil and his tolerant attitude towards the real ringleaders. Note also that while he rebukes magistrates and graziers for their slackness, he has not a word to say in reprobation of tho speeches of Mr. Ginnell. i LORD CURZON. Lord Curion, Chancellor of Oxford University, has been staying in Oxford to familiarise himself with the duties of his office, as he generously conceives them, and on Monday afternoon he visited Ruskin College and made a short and excellent speech. The college, as he pointed out, was founded to bring "the democracy" to Oxford. Now that the working classes had votes they were our yittual rulers by force of numbers, and it was e&sential that they should have education adequate to - the grave task. The University, ho held,' ouglit to open its doors wide to the working classes. The working classes, lor their part, did not want to 'be drawn • too intimately into the University. But contact always removed suspicion. He hoped that moVe students at Ruskin College would be abls to tfike q, course of "two years instead of one year. We are yeryclad to record Lord Curfcon's speech. 1 We have said many times that the old Universities ought to welcome working men in every possible way, though we cannot admit the corollary ' proposed by some that rich men should be correspondingly discouraged. If the influence of the Universities is good, even rich men may be allowed the right of profiting by it.