ABSTRACT
The intentions of a mildly bored electorate were apparent from the opposition gains at by-elections, totalling twenty-two against the government's two from more than a hundred contests. Salisbury did not allow his opposition to the Gladstone and Rosebery ministries to be constrained by their concentration upon those priorities. The Duke was afraid for property and its rights, unnecessarily, because Chamberlain saw his future in Salisbury's new Conservatism, which he naturally preferred to call Unionism with its emphasis shifting from Ireland to empire and social reform. It was very plainly in the Tory interest to prevent their allies from turning back to the main body of Liberals, if they could, or from standing aside during the election that was in the offing at one point Chamberlain threatened to go abroad. During the years in opposition Salisbury portrayed Toryism and Unionism as at once strong and prudent where the world outside was concerned.
