of character, coupled with a remarkable dignity of
bearing at the right moment and in the right place, and a rare memory
for faces and incidents and peoples and places, that made King Edward so
truly the Sovereign of his people. In this connection a religious orator
of the Radical type in London--Rev. R. J. Campbell--told an audience in
Toronto, Canada, on July 22, 1903, that "Queen Victoria is gone but her
son remains and I would not exchange King Edward, with all the criticism
that has been directed against him, for any Sovereign ruler on the face
of the earth or any President of any Republic on either side of the
water."

Following the visit to Paris of this year, which paved the way for
better relations in the future between Britain and France, the King made
a successful tour of a part of Ireland--July 21st to August 1st--and
impressed himself upon the mercurial temperament of the sons of Erin. In
September came the memorable retirement of Mr. Chamberlain from the
Balfour Government; his declaration of devotion to the new-old ideal of
limited protective tariffs for the United Kingdom _plus_ preferential
duties in favour of the external Empire; the split in the Conservative
party and the presentation of a great issue to the people which,
however, was clouded over by other policies in either party and had not,
up to the time of the King's death, won a clear presentation to the
people as a whole. Mr. Chamberlain's letter to Mr. Balfour dated
September 8th expressed regret that the all-important question of fiscal
reform had been made a party issue by its opponents; recognised the
present political force of the cry against taxing food and the
impossibility of immediately carrying his Preferential policy; suggested
that the Government should limit their immediate advocacy to the
assertion of greater fiscal freedom in foreign negotiations with a power
of tariff retaliation, when necessary, as a weapon; and declared his own
intention to stand aside, with absolute loyalty to the Government in
their general policy but in an independent position, and with the
intention of "devoting myself to the work of explaining and popularizing
those principles of Imperial union which my experience has convinced me
are essential to our future welfare and prosperity." In his reply the
Premier paid high tribute to Mr. Chamberlain's services to the Empire,
sympathized personally with his Imperial ideals and agreed with him that
the time was