1899.] Mr. Balfour and the Primrose League. [95
foreign policy, but would draw their attention to a recent controversy between two schools of financiers. It was a funda- mental truth that empire rested on two foundations — adequate defence and sound finance. It was admitted, he thought, that our defences were stronger than they had ever been, but the Opposition had attacked the financial policy of the Government because they intended to reduce the 7,000,000/. set apart for the reduction of the debt to 5,800,000/. Perhaps the true fault of the Budget, from an Opposition point of view, was that it did not inconvenience the taxpayers. But he must remind them that those who professed to value the empire must be prepared to pay additional taxation for it if necessary. In 1845 there was a correspondence between Sir R Peel, then Prime Minister, and the Duke of Wellington, then Commander-in-Chief. The relations with France were then uneasy, and Lord Palmerston had declared that a French invasion could not be resisted. In that correspondence the Duke of Wellington thought that England could not defend its own shores, and that it would practically be hopeless to defend our colonies. Sir B. Peel, while not going so far, did not think home defence satisfactory, and admitted that the protection of the colonies was beyond our power. But thirty years of peace had done little to diminish the debt of nearly 800,000,000/., and though much was necessary for defence the condition of finance was prohibitive of any com- plete scheme. Now not only Great Britain but the colonies were safe from attack ; all the liabilities of the Crimean war had been paid off, besides 200,000,000Z. of the old debt, and the condition of every class, especially the working classes, had improved, as was shown by the rate of wages; by the con- sumption per head of luxuries and of necessaries; by all the statistics with regard to the housing of the working classes ; and, above all, by the diminution of pauperism.
If the discussion of financial questions at such a gathering seemed incongruous, very striking and instructive were the proceedings of a meeting held at the Mansion House (April 21) under the presidency of the Lord Mayor (Sir J. Vose Moore), to appeal for support for the social work of the Salvation Army. With a few words of introduction, reminding his hearers that the Salvation Army assisted daily upwards of 18,000 persons, the Lord Mayor called upon " the General " to explain the work of his army. Mr. Bramwell Booth said that their object was to rescue what was called the worthless class. In business the prevention of waste often meant the difference between poverty and affluence, and he believed it would make a great difference to the nation if the worthless people in our midst could be turned into honest citizens. It was a monstrous thing that the workhouses should be harbouring thousands of able-bodied paupers who lived and grew fat at the public expense. The cost of the various agencies carried on in this country by the Salvation Army last year was 150,000/. but 143,000/. of that
