THE DEFEAT OF MR. BALFOUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13081, 22 January 1906, Page 7

THE DEFEAT OF MR. BALFOUR.

Sir,— few days ago, when commenting on the defeat of this gentleman by his old constituency at Manchester, you made the remark that Prime Ministers had been defeated before. 1 presume you meant in tho period since 1532, the year of the great Liberal Reform Bill. But is that true? Peel, Russell, Palmerston. Gladstone, and Disraeli were all commoners, but not one of them ever lost his .'eat during his Premiership. It is true that Gladstone was defeated for South-west Lancashire, but he didn't lose his seat, because the electorate was a new one, and took its place for the first time as such at the general election. As a matter of fact, Gladstone, when contesting South-west Lancashire, was M.P. for the borough of Greenwich, having hern elected for that constituency prior to the poll in Lancashiee. So that, after all the unenviable distinction belongs to Mr. Balfour as the first English Premier—for I suppose he may be spoken of as Premier in iv party pease—who was beaten, and ignominiously beaten, when seeking re-election at the hand of his old constituents. E. BEI.LHOUSE.