1903: Irish Land-purchase Act: leningen van de staat om landlords in Ierland uit te kopen

On Lord Salisbury's resignation on 11 July 1902, Balfour succeeded him as Prime Minister, with the approval of all sections of the unionist party. The new Prime Minister came into power practically at the same moment as the coronation of Edward VII and the end of the South African War. For a while no cloud appeared on the horizon. The Liberal party was still disorganized over their attitude towards the Boers. The two chief items of the ministerial parliamentary program were the extension of the new Education Act to London and the Irish Land Purchase Act, by which the British exchequer would advance the capital for enabling the tenants in Ireland to buy out the landlords. A notable achievement of Balfour's government was the establishment of the Committee on Imperial Defence.

The budget was certain to show a surplus and taxation could be remitted. As events proved, it was the budget that would sow dissension, override all other legislative problems of the session, and bring a new political movement into being. Ritchie's remission of the shilling import-duty on corn led to Chamberlain's crusade in favor of tariff reform and colonial preference, and as the session proceded the rift grew in the unionist ranks.

The debate over Imperial Preference and the subsequent split of the Conservative-Unionist Party dominated the three years of Balfour's premiership. Balfour eventually resigned in December of 1905, and the Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Liberals at the general election, Balfour himself losing his seat at Manchester East, though he quickly won another seat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Balfour (20061002)