{"product_id":"2940015552461","title":"British Political Leaders","description":"CONTENTS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    1. ARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR                  1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    2. LORD SALISBURY                       25\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    3. LORD ROSEBERY                        49\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    4. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN                   73\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    5. HENRY LABOUCHERE                     99\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    6. JOHN MORLEY                         125\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    7. LORD ABERDEEN                       151\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    8. JOHN BURNS                          177\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    9. SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH             203\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    10. JOHN E. REDMOND                    229\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    11. SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT               255\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    12. JAMES BRYCE                        281\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    13. SIR HENRY CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN       307\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy first acquaintance with Mr. Arthur J. Balfour, who recently became\u003cbr\u003ePrime Minister of King Edward VII., was made in the earliest days of my\u003cbr\u003eexperience as a member of the House of Commons. The Fourth party, as it\u003cbr\u003ewas called, had just been formed under the inspiration of the late Lord\u003cbr\u003eRandolph Churchill. The Fourth party was a new political enterprise. The\u003cbr\u003eHouse of Commons up to that time contained three regular and recognized\u003cbr\u003epolitical parties--the supporters of the Government, the supporters of\u003cbr\u003ethe Opposition, and the members of the Irish Nationalist party, of whom\u003cbr\u003eI was one. Lord Randolph Churchill created a Fourth party, the business\u003cbr\u003eof which was to act independently alike of the Government, the\u003cbr\u003eOpposition, and the Irish Nationalists. At the time when I entered\u003cbr\u003eParliament the Conservatives were in power, and Conservative statesmen\u003cbr\u003eoccupied the Treasury Bench. The members of Lord Randolph's party were\u003cbr\u003eall Conservatives so far as general political principles were concerned,\u003cbr\u003ebut Lord Randolph's idea was to lead a number of followers who should be\u003cbr\u003eprepared and ready to speak and vote against any Government proposal\u003cbr\u003ewhich they believed to be too conservative or not conservative enough;\u003cbr\u003eto support the Liberal Opposition in the rare cases when they thought\u003cbr\u003ethe Opposition was in the right; and to support the Irish Nationalists\u003cbr\u003ewhen they believed that these were unfairly dealt with, or when they\u003cbr\u003ebelieved, which happened much more frequently, that to support the\u003cbr\u003eIrishmen would be an annoyance to the party in power.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Fourth party was made up of numbers exactly corresponding with the\u003cbr\u003etitle which had been given to it. Four men, including the leader,\u003cbr\u003econstituted the whole strength of this little army. These men were Lord\u003cbr\u003eRandolph Churchill, Arthur J. Balfour, John Gorst (now Sir John Gorst),\u003cbr\u003eand Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, who has during more recent years withdrawn\u003cbr\u003ealtogether from parliamentary life and given himself up to diplomacy, in\u003cbr\u003ewhich he has won much honorable distinction. Sir John Gorst has recently\u003cbr\u003eheld office in the Government, and is believed to have given and felt\u003cbr\u003elittle satisfaction in his official career. He is a man of great ability\u003cbr\u003eand acquirements, but these have been somewhat thrown away in the\u003cbr\u003ebusiness of administration.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47182399242480,"sku":"2940015552461","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015552461","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}