tional strength in which the premier
himself occupied the post of First Lord of the Treasury, Sir Edward
Grey that of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Herbert H. Asquith that of the
Exchequer, Mr. Richard B. Haldane that of War, Lord Tweedmouth that of
the Navy, Mr. David Lloyd-George that of President of the Board of
Trade, Mr. John Burns that of President of the Local Government Board,
Mr. Augustine Birrell that of President of the Board of Education, and
Mr. James Bryce that of Chief Secretary for Ireland. January 8, 1906,
the "Khaki Parliament" was dissolved, a general election was ordered,
and the new parliament was fixed to meet at the earliest legal date,
February 13. The campaign that followed was the most animated, except
that of 1910, in recent British history. The Unionists, being
themselves divided beyond repair on the question of the tariff, pinned
their hope to a disruption of the Liberal forces on the issue of Home
Rule. The Liberal leaders, however, steadfastly refused to allow the
Irish question to be brought into the foreground. Recognizing that
Home Rule in the immediate future was an impossibility, but pledging
themselves to a policy contemplating its establishment by degrees,
they contrived to force the battle principally upon the issue of free
trade _versus_ protection and, in general, to direct their most
telling attack upon the fiscal record and fiscal policies of their
opponents. The result was an overwhelming Liberal triumph. In a total
of 6,555,301 votes,[223] 4,026,704 were cast for Liberal, Nationalist,
and Labor candidates, and only 2,528,597 for Conservatives and
Unionists. There were returned to the House of Commons 374 Liberals,
84 Nationalists, 54 Laborites, 131 Conservatives, and 27 Liberal
Unionists, assuring the Liberals and their allies a clear
preponderance of 354.[224] Prior to the elections careful observers
believed the return of the Liberals to power inevitable, but a victory
of such proportions was not dreamed of by the most ardent of the
party's well-wishers.[225]

[Footnote 223: The number of electors in the United
Kingdom in 1906 was 7,266,708.]

[Footnote 224: Of the Opposition 102 were Tariff
Reformers of the Chamberlain school, while but 16
were thoroughgoing "Free Fooders."]

[Footnote 225: M. Caudel, Les elections generales
anglaises (janvier 1906