VIEW OF ENGLISH POLITICS. 67

most of the news through the United States.
The spirit in which the greater part of that
news is written is an Imperial danger which
should be removed at once. We were amazed at
the flagrantly partisan nature of the news supplied
to every Canadian newspaper with one or two
notable exceptions. The partisanship is on the
side of Mr. Chamberlain. It consists in giving incomplete
 extracts from his speeches and in either
ignoring or misconstruing the arguments of his
opponents. There existed (or existed at the end of
1903) in the mind of almost every Canadian a most
complete misconception of the nature of the opposition
 to Mr. Chamberlain and of the reasons,
motives, and political strength of his opponents.
British Free Trade leaders were often accused of
being prompted solely by a desire to cringe to
the United States, and of lacking the courage
to declare themselves as Protectionists. For this
the papers are chiefly responsible. In them are
to be found, side by side, the dicta of the
great London dailies and the smallest provincial
papers, of Cabinet Ministers and Parliamentary
candidates, the resolutions of local beanfeasts and
picnics, and of representative associations. In
view of this, one is not surprised to read in a
Canadian paper a stirring account of “London’s
12 million unemployed.” It is but fair to add
that in the prevailing darkness there are some
Canadian newspapers which see the difficulties
and objections, but even these have been slow
Fo