The case of Mr. Hatch, the Unionist Member for the
Gorton division, as set forth in his speech at Manchester on Wednesday, is on all fours with that of Mr. Arthur Elliot. Elected as a Unionist when his party was Free-trade, he is now accused of disloyalty because of his constancy to that doctrine,—much in the same way that Liberals who found sudden salvation in 1886 spoke of those who opposed Mr. Gladstone as having " turned Unionist." In consequence of his consistency Mr. Hatch finds himself assailed in his own division by a Chamberlainite organisation, which aims at taxing food—though the Government has distinctly disavowed such a policy—and is supported by two prominent members of the Government. As a result of these experiences, Mr. Hatch is moved to wonder whether it is possible to fight the Free-trade battle from within the Unionist party. We have on former occasions given our reasons for believing that to be the right course. But the extraordinary self-suppression of the Premier is rendering it increasingly difficult to pursue.
On Thursday night Mr. Balfour addressed a meeting of his constituents in East Manchester, which, judging from the
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