THE BALFOUR SURPRISE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14867, 19 December 1911, Page 4

THE BALFOUR SURPRISE.

UNIONIST LEADER RESIGNS. THE HEAVY STRAIN OF OFFICE. WILL HE COME BACK AGAIN? [FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]. London, November 10. The political world was startled shortly after the assembly of Parliament on Wednesday afternoon by tho sensational news that Mr. Balfour had decided to resign the leadership of the Unionist Party. The rumour had scarcely gained currency before it was officially confirmed." The secret had been well kept, -for within a fow minutes of tho report being mentioned in tho lobbies of tho House of Commons Mr. Balfour was himself announcing his decision to a meeting of his constituents in the City of London. In doing so Mr. Balfour said his main reason was his inability, on account of his health, to meet the continued strain which was now involved in the office. Ho desired, ho said, to give his successor an opportunity of holding the position beforo it became necessary for the party to engage in tho great controversies of Homo Rule, Welsh Disestablishment, and electoral reform. Tho news aroused the deepest interest among members of all parties, and it was the sole topic of conversation. Mr. Balfour's retirement closes an epoch in tho history of the Conservative Party, and Unionists will now enter upon a new period under another chieftain. Opinion in the Country. Tlio Conservative papers Repress great regret at the resignation, and tho Daily Graphic says what many people aro thinking : "Ho goes, not because his faculties aro failing, but because younger men are clamouring for his departure." Tho Daily Chronicle says:—"Mr. Balfour has not perhaps the astounding vitality of Mr. Gladstone, but if the Tories ever win an election again wo shall see—what we shall see." Mr. Philip Snowdon, Labour M.P., thinks Mr. Balfour's retirement will be most disastrous to the Tory Party. There is no man, lie says, to take his place, and if any man endeavoured to take his placo the result would be farcical. Probably Mr. Balfour may keep in retirement during the next session, but no doubt by that time the Tories will have found out that he is indispensable, and somo way will bo found for him to come back again.

Mr. William Redmond, interviewed at Exeter, said Mr. Balfour's resignation was a very bad thing for tho Tory Party. Ho was really the only man they had. He had been very badly treated by members of his own party, who had subjected him to a long course of abuse and insult. The only wonder was that he had stood it so long. There would be an inner history of the resignation written some day. From the Irish point of view, Mr. Balfour's disappearance was very encouraging, it being calculated to make smooth the passing of Homo Rule. Although Irish members were strongly opposed to Mr. Balfour, they ere among tho first to acknowledge his great Parliamentary gifts. Mr. Bailout's Speech. Mr. Balfour mado the announcement of his immediate intention to resign at a hastily convened meeting of the committee of the City of London Conservative Association. In tho course of his speech ho said : — " I have been nearly 38 years in Parliament. I have been, if you count tho leadership of the Opposition—as rely you ought to count it— being equivalent to office, and it is indeed equivalent, as far as its leaders aro concerned, to being in officel have been in office, m that broad sense of tho word, for a quarter of a century, and a quarter of a century continuously. I first joined the Cabinet Lord Salisbury's Cabinetin November, 1887, in a position which, at that time, was one of some administrative difficulty, as Secretary for Scotland. Almost immediately afterwards —within a few monthsl became Irish Secretarynot an easy officeand when, through the lamented death of my friend, Mr. W. H. Smith, 1 became leader of the House of Commons I began a course of leadership of the party in tho House which has lasted 20 years. " Of those 20 years of leadership of the party in the House ten were spent in leadership of the whole House. I Mas leader of tlio house for ten consecutive years, a longer period of consecutive leadership than that of any Minister in the country since the death of William Pitt. Of these 25 years since I first joined the Cabinet, 17 were passed not merely in office, in tho broad sense in which I have used tho term, but actually in office in the servico of the Crown.

" Now let mo add as a sort of indication of the way time has gone on. Men have been removed from the scene of their political activities, and I do not believe that at this moment there are more than four or live —members of the Unionist Party in tho House of Commons —who have ever worked with any other leader. Mr. Chaplin, Mr. Walter Long, Mr. Wortley, and Mr. Wyndham, I think, by one or two months. There may bo another, lam not sure; but I do not think there. are more than five who have ever known what it is to have another leader of the party in tho House of Commons.

" The work of a leader has always been strenuous, but, as I think, as I said just now, it is an increasing work. It is an. increasing work for two or three different reasons. It is an increasing work because under the peculiar arrangements which commend themselves to His Majesty's present advisers, the Houso of Commons is expected to sit 10 or 11 months in every year, and that throws an additional strain, not merely upon the Ministers themselves, and the officers of the House, upon tho public departments, but necessarily and inevitably upon him, whoever ho may be, who is for the time being responsible for tho policy of tho Opposition. That is one cause of the growing labours of tho leader of the party. , Mental Petrifaction. " I desiro to leave the position of heavy responsibility which I hold. I desire to leave it .before I can bo suspected of suffering from tho most insidious of all diseases, tho disease which comes upon those who, without losing their health and their intellect, nevertheless get somewhat petrified in the old course they have pursued, whose authority grows because they have been long in the public service— great men cf science or eminent men of business, whatever it may be — who cannot deal with the new problems which, in this changing world, are perpetually arising, with all the freshness and elasticity which is really desirable in those who have got to conduct great concerns.

" No man ever knows himself when that moment arrives. A man knows when he is ill. He may even know when his memory begins to fail, or some other sign of decay is pressed on his attention. But the sort of malady of which I am speaking may attack people in the prime of health and intellectual vigour, so long as the intellectual vigour is exercised on the old'lineß— but, nevertheless, although they may retain apparently all the force both of brain and limb which they had in the prime of life, they are less capable of adapting themselves to the changing circumstances of life than are those of less authority because younger, and yet more capable also because they are younger. I am vain enough to hope that I have not reached that period. (Cheers.) But I should be miserable if I ran the margin too fine, and nothing, I think, would be more terrible to realise than that, while people were looking to you more than ever

for leadership, owing to your •> lengthening experience, you have not the keenness or tho alertness"— must go with increasing years—adequately to meet the demands made upon you. , " Now, if I have carried you. with mo so fax in this somewhat egotistical exposition of the situation, you will observe that the only problem is this: lam confident that I could not, if the fortunes of our party wore to, as I think they will, rise to their ancient height, I Gave not, I am confident, the vigour again to conduct a Ministry." . Mr. Balfour then argued that the present was tho best time ift go. He asked them not to take a dark view of their fortunes, as ho believed that the Unionist Party was now on the upward grade. In conclusion ho said-:—■ ■ ;.fi i':\ • ■>■ - v "I hope still to have years of "activity which I can devote not merely to the constituency I represent, but to the whole country and the whole party all who represent the Unionist cause in England, Scotland, or Ireland."