ABSTRACT
When in May, 1903, Mr. Chamberlain put forth his scheme, Mr. Balfour was, of course, the head of the party, and remained so till he resigned in November, 1911. During those eight years and more the public never, perhaps, fully realised his fiscal attitude, and a literature arose to explain it. But it is better, instead of combating or correcting the views of others on this subject, simply to state the facts, and to trace their momentous result upon the commonwealth. To comprehend this matter, it is necessary to remember that Mr. Balfour had already dealt with economics in the nineteenth century, and that the practical measure to which he then applied himself was the establishment of Bimetallism. This scheme of extraordinary finance, if adopted, would certainly have volatilised our credit, which, since the Act of 1819, has been wholly based on gold. Yet Mr. Balfour, when First Lord of the Treasury, was still "a confirmed and pronounced Bimetallist".
