Chamberlain was shocked to find on 17 March that the majority of the Cabinet was in agreement with Ritchie, and that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had reversed the decision made the previous November. Balfour chose not to take sides, but did not oppose Ritchie for fear of losing his Chancellor on the eve of the budget. Chamberlain accepted that there was not enough time to debate the matter in Cabinet before the budget, and allowed Ritchie to have his way. The Chancellor presented a Free Trade on 23 April, during which Chamberlain was completely silent. Though Chamberlain had been taken aback by the Cabinet's switch, he prepared to surprise his colleagues in return. On 15 May, in the midst of his power base, Bingley Hall, Chamberlain remarked before his speech to the event's chief organiser, "You can burn your leaflets. We are going to talk about something else." He lamented the demise of the corn tax to his audience and insisted that the greatness of the empire could be preserved by introducing Imperial Preference, which he hoped would dominate the next general election. His impromptu speech stunned Balfour and the Cabinet, the Prime Minister having just insisted publicly that it was not yet time to implement a policy of Imperial Preference. Furthermore, on 28 May, Chamberlain reiterated his challenge to Free Trade orthodoxy in the House of Commons, amidst cheering from many Unionists. Balfour hoped to calm the situation by devoting the summer to the question and publicly professed support for neither policy, earning him much criticism by the opposition Liberal Party.