Mr. Ure's contribution to the debate took the form of
a long and impassioned attempt to vindicate himself from the charges brought against him by Mr. Balfour. He claimed that the enthusiastic cheers with which lie was received proved that in the opinion of colleagues and friends he was still held worthy to continue in office and retain his seat in the House. He admitted and expressed regret for inaccuracies in his allegations about the Duke of Buccleuch, but maintained that no apology was needed, because he had made no charge of rapacity. Replying to Mr. Balfour's attack on his statements about old-age pensions, he quoted a message from Mr. Balfour on the occasion of a by-election in May, 1908, stating that "those who have hitherto doubted the value of our fiscal policy must now be converted to its wisdom, for though the Radicals have pro- mised old-age pensions, only the Unionist Party can provide for their payment."—We may here parenthetically observe that when this message was sent old-age pensions bad not become a national and statutory obligation.—Mr. Ure went on to say that he never said that the Opposition would repudiate old-age pensions, or challenged the good faith of his opponents. He only challenged their ability to find the money.
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