OCR Text |
Show Bj Telegraph. , Gladstone on the War. London, Lon-don, 31. At the Lord Mayor's banquet ban-quet last night, Gladstone, in responding respond-ing to the toast, "The Ministers," asked, in the name of wounded humanity hu-manity and the grievances of civilization civiliza-tion and religion, could anything be more deplorable than the sight of nations of the highest civilization, with institutions nearly perfect, famous in every department of history, and the admiration of the world, rushing into a conflict to mutilate and slaughter. The issue was difficult to state, and no intelligent mind could suppress it-horrors it-horrors at the specacle. Gladstone then spoke of England's position in the war as f jllows : The first idea of England is neutrality; her second idea ia preparation for the worst. Her neutrality is not indifference, nor is it ealfish isolation. It is dictated by the necessity of mitigating the evils of war, of confining them within the smallest possible circle, and of retaining retain-ing the power to interfere at the proper pro-per moment. Nothing will be done to forfeit the friendship of either party, and nothing will be omittid to retain their confidence, so that we may avail ourselves of the first opportunity for renewing our efforts at mediation in a quarrel the mot mournful and miserable miser-able ever witnessed by mankind. |