THE BIRMINGHAM PILGRIM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 45, 16 November 1907, Page 5

THE BIRMINGHAM PILGRIM.

PRIME MINISTER ON UNIONIST LEADER. ACT OF SUBMISSION. THE REVENUE ASPECT OF SOCIAL REFORM. POSSIBLE WITHOUT PROTECTION. . DV TBLEOIIAriI—ritESS ASSOCIATION— -COrntlGHT. London, November 14. Sir Henry Cninpboll-Bannerman, tho Prime Minister, speaking at the Colston banquet at Bristol, twitted Mr. Balfour with going to Birmingham to make his submission, as a greater potentate wont to Canossa, Ho supposed tho Leader of tho Opposition had at last discarded his doubts and hesitation, and meant to come out as an honost Protectionist.

Even if the Unionists won at the next general olection, they would bo unablo to carry Tariff Reform straight away, since they had no coherent practical schomo ready. It would bo unwise to declare their inability to carry social reforms until Free Trade was out of the way. ' • By including social reforms in a general constructive programmo' taey would, tho Prime Minister argued, best haston their triumph. With Protection, the privilege givon to one industry would bo claimed by another, and another, until tho revenue would be forgotten in the scramble for trade advantages. ' Tho dragon of Socialism was not new; property would bo in no danger if a spirit of justice and liberty was abroad, and a check placed in time on tho .arroganco of wealth.

It would bo unwise, the Prime Minister declared, to forco Tariff Reform in front of a social policy.

The explanation of the "Canossa" remark is to bo found in yesterday's cablegrams, which stated that great interest is felt in a speech to bo delivered by Mr. A. J. Balfour (Leader of tho Opposition) at Birmingham, whero ho would also visit '(fir. Chamberlain. It was pointed out in yesterday's issue that those cabled facts, along with tho tariff rjform speech by the chief ' Conservative Whip (Sir Alexander Acland-Hood). interred some definite pronouncement on the fiscal issue by Mr. Baliour, whose indefiniteness has been' hurled at him as a taunt by Liboral loaders ever since Mr. Chamberlain split the Unionist party with hie tariff proposals. Sir Henry Campbell-Ban-norman has now gono tho length of predicting that Mr. Balfour will "at Inst discard his doubts and hesitation, and como out as an honest protectionist;" further, that lie is doing so us a final act of submission to Mr. Chamberlain, the originator of tho movement. It was to Canossa, now a ruined castle' of Italy, that the Emperor Henry.lV made his pilgrimage, in 1077, to make submission to tho Popo, who had excommunicated him. Ho was treated in the most humiliating fashion by 'Pope Gregory, who left him three days in the snow in tho courtyard before consenting recoivo him.. It is to this that Bismarok referred in his famous phrase "Nach Canossa gohon wir nicht' ("We arc not going to Canossa") uttered in the Reichstag during tho Kulturkampf, tho crusade in, Gonnany in tho seventies against ; the Popß and tho Ultramontaines*

, Tho question of tho revenue—whoro tho money is to como from for Focial reforms?— has been continually emphasisod b.v tariff roformors. Mr. Chamberlain baited his preferential proposals with old ago ponsionfi; and it has boon anrued that revenue .for pensions is not attainable under freo trade. On the other hand, the Primo Minister maintains that it is not necessary that tariff revision should precede social reform; and ho points out that, with freo trade still onjo,vin(,' n healthy existence, a confession of thoir inability to con-fer-social benefits without now duties may react to the detriment of the traiff reformers themselves. "A general constructive programme, including social reform, is tho Liberal freo traders'. objective. . '■