Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/80

 72] ENGLISH HISTOEY. [march

the earnest desire felt to do something to cure the great evil — the question of poor old-age."

After speaking of the crisis in the Church, Sir H. Campbell- Bannerman drew attention to the taxation of land values, observing that it was an intolerable injustice that an enhanced value should be given to the land by the improvement and development of a locality, while the owner of the property, who reaped the benefit, contributed nothing to the cost.

The appearance of anything like a misunderstanding be- tween the two factions of the Unionist party was naturally hailed with delight by the Liberals, whose inability to agree upon a common line of policy was the frequent theme of their opponents' satire. Early in the year Mr. A. J. Balfour had published a letter in which he put forward his views on the demand of the Irish Boman Catholics for a separate university. He suggested that two new universities should be founded in Ireland, one in Dublin and one in Belfast, on similar lines, and rigidly subject to the Tests Acts. All scholarships and fellow- ships paid out of public funds were to be thrown open to public competition irrespective of creed, and no public endow- ment should be given to the Chairs of Philosophy, Theology or Modern History, the only difference being that the governing body of the Dublin University would be Boman Catholic, and that of Belfast Protestant. Mr. Balfour supported his scheme by various arguments, as a Unionist, a Protestant and a lover of education. He specially insisted, however, that this sugges- tion was a personal one, and that it in no way bound the Govern- ment of which he was a member, or indicated their intentions. A week or two later he repeated this assertion in reply to a deputa- tion of the Manchester branch of the National Protestant League, which affected great alarm at Mr. Balfour's opinions, imagining that, notwithstanding his express detachment on the matter, there still lurked the intention of legislating in their sense. The party, he assured his visitors, was in no sense committed to the views he held. No party whip had been or could ever be used in furtherance of them. " I fail to see how the party are im- plicated. So far as I am concerned I say that it is a matter of indifference to me whether I remain in public life or not ; but it is not a matter of indifference to me if, in remaining in public life, I should be prevented from expressing, even against my own interests, views which I conscientiously hold." He quite recognised the duties which a party leader owed to his party, but if they involved silence on a matter " where your conscience moves you," then the position of a party leader was not one which a self-respecting man could undertake.

There was little doubt that Mr. Balfour in this matter expressed the feelings of many Conservatives and Liberals who were not swayed by either fear or bigotry. The claim of the Unionists since 1886 had been that they had done no wrong to Ireland by denying her a national Parliament, because she could