Any popular party organisation in England involves two dangers, one personal and the other political; one that a man may use it for selfish purposes; the other that it may force upon the leaders a policy which they were not prepared to adopt. We have seen how this second peril actually confronted the Liberal Ministry in the form of the Newcastle Programme, and how it was met by muzzling the Council of the National Liberal Federation. In the National Union the difficulty has been solved in a very different way. Until 1885 the Conference passed no resolutions on general policy, save in the form of expressing confidence in the leaders, or congratulating them on their exploits; but in that year, when an effort was made to give to the Union the appearance of a free popular organisation, confessions of faith on current politics began. Resolutions of this kind soon became numerous and included demands to which the Conservative leaders could not assent, such as woman suffrage, and fair trade, that is, protection in a modified form.[561:1]
are Free;
But, except for occasional cases where a delegate was persuaded to withdraw his motion, or where it was shelved by the previous question on the ground that a vote on the subject would be impolitic, no attempt has been made by the managers to fetter the free expression of opinion. The Conservative leaders, however, made it clear almost at once that they did not take the action of the Conference very seriously. In 1887 it adopted resolutions in favour of fair trade, woman suffrage, and reforms in the tenure and sale of Church livings; but although Lord Salisbury, then Prime Minister, in a public speech immediately afterward said, "More and more in this day political leading and the making of political opinion must be a matter of local effort," and although he referred to agricultural distress, and the forthcoming budget, he made no allusion to fair trade, or for that matter to woman suffrage or Church livings.[562:1] There was, at first, no doubt, some dread of the effect the resolutions might have on the public, and on several occasions the chairman called attention to the fact that among the delegates were men connected with the press, warning them not to report the proceedings.[562:2] At one time, in fact, an unofficial proposal was made to forbid the passing of resolutions altogether. In 1889 a delegate moved that although general questions of policy might be discussed, no vote should in future be taken upon them. The fair trade resolution of 1887, which had provoked criticism, was referred to, and several gentlemen said they wished to prevent a repetition of that incident. The matter was referred to the Council, which reported in the following year that they had considered both this suggestion and another that no resolution should be placed upon the agenda without the consent of the Council; but that they had decided to recommend no change in the rules, except an increase in the number of days prior to the Conference that notice of a motion must be sent in. They went even further, and advised that reporters for the press should be admitted to the meetings, which was done forthwith.
but are Ignored.
The proceedings at the Conference of the National Union are thus quite free. Any delegate or other member has a right, on giving the prescribed notice, to prepare a resolution on any subject, and amendments can be moved upon the spot. The result has been a large number of declarations of opinion on public questions, not always consistent or unopposed. A resolution in favour of woman suffrage was adopted in 1887, 1891, and 1894, and then defeated in 1897 by a substantial majority. The action of the Conference is not fettered; it is ignored. Some great nobleman presides, and one of the party leaders usually addresses a public meeting in the evening; but statesmen of the first rank take no part in the regular proceedings, which have, therefore, no political weight.
The Fiscal Question.
A proof of the small importance attached to the votes is furnished by the history of the movement for fair trade or preferential tariffs. Resolutions in favour of such a policy were passed over and over again, but they did not bring the question even within the range of active political issues until Mr. Chamberlain made his speech on the subject to his constituents at Birmingham in the spring of 1903. The meeting of the Conference at Sheffield in the following October then awoke a real interest; and yet the proceedings at that very meeting show how the National Union shrank from a decided stand at a critical moment. The situation was extraordinary. Mr. Chamberlain had taken his stand for a preferential tariff in favour of the colonies, including a duty on grain, and had recently resigned from the cabinet to advocate his views more freely before the country; while other ministers had resigned because they could not abandon the principle of free trade. Mr. Balfour had expressed no definite opinion, and was expected to make a statement on the subject at a public meeting after the close of the first day's session of the Union. Under these circumstances a resolution was placed upon the agenda which stated the need for reconsidering the fiscal system, thanked the Prime Minister for instituting an inquiry on the subject, and welcomed the policy of retaliatory tariffs he had foreshadowed. To this Mr. Chaplin moved a rider favouring explicitly Mr. Chamberlain's views; while Sir John Gorst stood ready to move another against any protective duty on food. During the afternoon the fiscal question was hotly debated, and, judging by the way the free trade speakers were interrupted, a large majority of those present must have agreed with Mr. Chamberlain's opinions; but in order not to pass a vote before hearing the Prime Minister, the debate was adjourned until the following day.
In the evening Mr. Balfour declared himself in favour of a retaliatory tariff as a means of commercial bargaining with other nations, but said that a tax on food was not within the limits of practical politics. When the debate was resumed the next morning, Mr. Chaplin withdrew his rider, on the ground that it might look like a resolution hostile to the Prime Minister; and Sir John Gorst said that Mr. Balfour's statement was so far satisfactory that he should make no motion. Thus the sharp differences of opinion that seethed in the Conference were calmed on the surface, and the original resolution was adopted unanimously, only a couple of staunch free traders abstaining from the vote. If ever an English political organisation had a chance to determine the policy of the party it was on this occasion, and a decisive majority was undoubtedly on Mr. Chaplin's side. Yet this Conference which had often voted for fair trade when the ministers would have none of it, shrank from saying what it thought when the ministers were undecided. A stronger proof could hardly be found that the National Union is powerless to direct the policy of the party.
The Organisation Breaks Down after 1903.
Although the popular character of the National Union was unreal, as regards both administrative machinery and the formulation of political opinion, the system worked well so long as the Conservatives were in the ascendent, and Captain Middleton remained in control. But he had concentrated the whole management so completely in his own hands that the machinery could not run smoothly of itself after he retired in 1903. His successor, instead of consulting the officers of the Union, proceeded as if the Central Office was all-powerful, and thus lost touch with the Union and the local associations. Moreover, the sub-agents in some of the divisions were not wisely chosen, and caused friction rather than harmony in the party. Complaints became loud, and found expression at the meeting of the Conference at Newcastle in November, 1905, where a resolution was adopted "that in the opinion of this Conference the management of the Central Conservative Association in London is defective, and needs revising; and for this purpose a popularly elected committee should be appointed to coöperate with the Conservative Whips." The principal agent thereupon resigned; and the resolution of the Conference, followed by the disastrous defeat at the general election in the January following, led to another reorganisation of the party in 1906.
