| Show WAR CLOUDS OVER EUROPE ii i great reat britain and russia exchanging portentous notes amber lains great speech has brought the two nations ana and perhaps the civilized world to a IL serious crisis czar rushing troops to manchuria great protest full text of chamberlains speech london may ea 6 it baa has leaked out abst the foreign office has his queried the Itus Ilso ministry min through the ambassador a in st in repard regard to the remarkable military activity displayed iloda the line of 0 the tte siberian railway J foreit numbers of russian troops are o 0 to be en roue do the cars to the edd cal of rail rall travel from whence they are in parched arched to the theadoor Amoor river and shipped by boats to northern manchuria manchur i a this alge bareise glog of troops in the east is having most disturbing effect the query is paid raid to be an indirect to representations L laade nade by the 19 ra artian ian amba ambassador esador to the court of st junes as aekins king that the government give tome a official expression on the elide by joeph jo eph chamberlain at Dinning bam on may lay 12 in which be brinkly told of the urgent necessity nece of england by peaceful methods if poa possible sible by war if necessary the attitude 0 of t b becz ar in the far eart the exchange of notes is eaid said to fore a war that may mar involve all europe and possibly the united states sitione both russia and great britain taking fram which there is no evident lindi andina naion ion to back dow dowland cand at ilie ifie anie fame time making greet great military pre yi orations I rations the speech of hon lion joseph chamber 1 which bae bas reatea created the trained strained r re lons as between russia and europe is 09 re 1 jw days ago lord salisbury madea powerful and aa an eloquent in which he urged the people of this country to apply this same method of testing 1 by results to thae foreign policy of the government lovern ment I 1 am ic inclined lined to think that it ia is at the moment rather on for tha than on domestic policy that the at ll ebion of the country is fixed and I 1 ani dad if nf it I 1 am glad that tuo tue people of 0 tte tw county count are turning their attention to this ion of foreign policy which in the past they have t bid had nothing to do with thena them it would woo id ibea be a great mistake to suppose eo so be cites you matt all recognize that there io i and nd here there ba bat t been for some time put a combined assault by the nations of the world upon the commercial su an pien jacy of this country countr r and it that as atilt were oar our existence oali la be menaced ina f a e way in which it new never has been threatened ainee the time at the very beginning of thia this centry A r when the great napoleon Ka attempt ea 4 0 to o lay an interdict upon british trade sow now I 1 lam am going to aptak apt ept ak to you von upon foreign politic politics an aad I 1 begin by baying saying that the situation ie is too serious and too critical for ere toi to treat itin anything like a controversial I 1 am not going to haiie in reference to it anything 9 of a Darty isme itis it is a national question thit that we have to consider the time may come before lone long when the government iny any government may have to appeal to ibe the patriotism ot of the people as a bole whole and if that time should come I 1 hope ope it will not find oa us as it has found other nations in lees less happy circum labree than we are divided among our iveland elves Ive and sand wasting in party recrimination energies enere iee that we wo shall want for the lie defence cence of our national interest interests I 1 HIM sy a I 1 v this at any rate il 41 do not think thick it is le wige wise or patriotic for certain party leaders lea dere who have been playing to ibe the fiery zeal of some of our own sup otters Por tre to represent the foreign minis katof of th this ie country with the vast re possibilities which are iu ht hie his habas irith ith ibe thi anxiety which ie Is cast upon him to represent the interests of this country tl lk the tle ot of foreign nation I 1 do not ot think it Is e wise or patriotic at su h to assert that be he is discredit K and defeated to gloat over ibe the ald humiliation of the country and say on every oc mccanon cation that the govern ant nt as a a whole is weak and nod vacillating vacil latine those statements were believed in ten countries if they were acted pon by foreign governments they make a great mistake roie take thy would bild find that courteous diplomacy ni ad moderate language and even gracei iki 1 concessi are not incompatible maintenance of the honor atthe the essential interests Inte reste of the coun try and if they were to presume a upon on this false intermor interpretation tation of the mind mint of 1116 foreign minler mini eer and the mind of t the difficulty ot of pre peace would be vety much in er eased md X ow I 1 wal want it according to to my manner I 1 to 1 to you a plain statement of t situation as it appears to me ours i A Democratic govern government men we g gain gin 11 ll it reneth from the confidence ce ot of re 0 poo people ale and we cannot gain streng strength th p confidence apless we show confidence 1 yeturu ani therefore lo 10 my igind A there ie is no longer any room for the mysteries and the ol 01 the diplomacy macy of fitly fifty yeara years ago you must tell the people what you mean and where you are going if yon want them to fot lonyou tow you id dionot 0 not mean to say that I 1 can tell you all the details ot of secret negotiations that of course would be absolutely absurd and would make negotiations impossible bot but the plain issue and the main principles ard the particulars of the problems leme with which we have to deal those might be elated stated in language to be understand ed of the people and I 1 would take the judgment of the people jost just as soon upon them es as I 1 would take that of the wisest diplomatist in the world now the first point that I 1 want buim u impress upon you Is mis this it ia the crux of the s situation tua tion since the crimean war nearly fifty years ago the policy of this country has been a policy of 0 strict isolation we have had no allies I 1 am afraid we have had bad no friends that is not due altogether to the envy which Is is undoubtedly felt at oar our success it is due in part to the suspicion that wo are acting in our own selfish in te rests and were willing that other deop people e should draw the chestnuts chestn out ont of the fire for us that we w would take no responsibilities while we were had glad enough to profit by the work of others in this way we bae hare avoided entangling alliances we have escaped many dangers era but we must accept the agao that po go with such a policy As long as the other great powers of europe were alfo also working tor for their own hand band ana were separately engaged think the policy we have pursued consistently was undoubtedly the right policy for this country it was better we should preserve our liberty of action than become mixed up with which possibly we bad no concern but now jn in recent years a different complexion has been placed upon the matter A new situation baa has arisen and it is right the people of this country should kiive it under their consideration all the powerful states of europe have made all alliances and as lorg a as we kep keep outside these alliances ns as long lone as we are envied by all and suspected byall and as lone long as we have interests which a one time or another conflict with the interests ats of all 11 we are liable to bo confronted at agniv adv moment witIA witha a combination of great grea powers eo so powerful that nat even vie w most extreme the most hotheaded hot headed politician would abe be able to contemplate it without uneasiness uneasiness that thit is the ilia situa kitna lion tiou which iwala I 1 kyou v have in view which yoa you must musk always have in view when who you are lie the results ot of the foreign policy of any govern pent in this country we eland stand alone and we may be confronted with such a bombin combination akimi as aliat I 1 have indie you what is the first duty of a govern ment under these circumstances 0 1 I eay say without hesitation that tim the first duty is to draw all parts of the empire loser closer together ti infuse into them a spirit of united and of imperial patriotism we have not neglected that primary duty we wo have pursued it steadfastly and with results that are patent to all the world never before in the history of the british empire have the tits which coo con necked us with our greet colonies and dependencies been stronger never before beford has the sense of these interests beu been more strongly felt or more cordially expressed what ia Is our next duty it is to establish and to maintain bonds of permanent amity with our out kinsmen the atlantic they are a powerful and a generous nerous ee I 1 nation they speak our language they are ate bred of our race their lawe laws their literature their stand standpoint point upon every question ate the gains as burd ours their feeling their interest in the causa of 0 bumanis and the peaceful development of two ane world are identical with oure ours I 1 do not know what the future has bag tn in store for us I 1 do not know what bat arrangements may be possible with oe na but ibis this 1 know and feel that the closer the more cordial the fuller faller and the more definite these arrangements are with the consent content of both peoples the better it will be for both and for the world and I 1 elengo even go eo so tit far as to tay say that terri terrible blo as war may be even war itself would be cheaply purchased if in ina a creat treat and ana noble cause the stars stare end and stripes stripe and the union jack should ave together over an anglo saxon alliance now it is one of the most results of lord policy that at the present owe these nations understand each other belter better than they have ever done since more than a century ago they were separated by the blunder of the tile english ngi ih government it ie is not in this cornec connection tion that our foreign policy has failed it ie is not in reference to this I 1 suppose that sir william Ilar harcourt court rt aid said the be other ther day dav that we were snubbed and humiliated 1 in every part of the globe no 1 suppose that ft it is ix in regard rezard to the east and especially ally to the far east that this ex gge rated language was intended to apply As to the eist east I 1 will only eay say this that more active interference on be balt either of armenia or of crete would have infallibly brought about precisely one of 0 those which I 1 have indicated tj you as possible and I 1 do not believe there is any one in this country any reasonable man who would pretend that it would be right tor lor thie this country to face ace euch such a contingency ti tin gency ogency in euch such a cause bat but in the course of the last four months the interest has shifted further eastward edill to china where undoubtedly vastly greater interests in teresta are at stake and although we are only at the bi ginning of great events the result of which it is impossible to foresee although althou et we can foresee that they will be of momentous im to every man and woman in the country althou although gb I 1 say we are only at the beginning of events already we aie ate condemned by an impatient section of politicians tor for a want of fore i eight and for want of buccere Buc cese now I 1 11 think if you will be patient with me I 1 c can an show that these two charges at any rate are groundless but I 1 do not wish yoa you to believe that in my opinion the campaign ii is over ever that the victory has been won 9 thit there are not in the future problems of the most serious character with which this country has hag gut got to deal but let us take the quest queston lon of foresight I 1 do not really tollow follow the language of some of our critics do they really believe that the government of all men men were alone ignorant ien orant ot of what every tyro I 1 in n politics was perfectly well acquainted with everybody has foreseen ore everybody has known not for the last few months but tor for many many years abat it wa the persi persistent 8 tent ambition and the continuous policy of russia to extend her eastern dominions southward to have an ice lee free port for her trade and an ice tree free barbor harbor for her safety nobody was ignorant of that the government knew kne it as well as the man in the street Buttliere but there is ls one thing that nobody knew people may have suspected it but I 1 venture to say that the majority of those who had the beet means of judging veto not prepared for the total collapse of china in the japanese obi chique war we knew that only a few yea yews ago china or the fear of china bad had forced russia herself to give up territory which the she bad had previously occupied and I 1 do not believe that before this thin war there was any general or satisfactory information at all which would have led one t tp gather that the absolute corruption ahe crass ignorance and the crois gross misgovernment ol 01 the mandarins in china bad brought the ancient empire to a position of practical impotence arce in which all effective resistance waa as for a lime entirely destroyed de but that was a very important laci to recognize from the moment that you recognized that fact yoa you bad had to see that unless learshie she were ere ass aee sted eted from outside is 8 b 8 at the mercy of the great mil ilary empire with its hundred millions bf of inhabitant inhabitants and with miles ot OL land I 1 2 nd on of 0 china but when was this information coma corn ale t e 1 1 when bad I 1 WAS thie this knowledge knowledg di ceri iain in novia not ie our hone time but in n the tim time r of L the late government the hiatte rd itter rl ae as I 1 have vaid aid is much touch too ten seri t en baia aoa fa r in the nature mature of ot re crimination in each euch a case it seem lo 10 me that hab the tu ft t argument is wo worse reethan than absurd u ie ia mie mischievous chievous and almost aimo si unpatriotic I 1 only ionly refer to it to ebow the difficulty oi of the case care not to blame the late nto government and when sir william accuses us ot of want of foresight and of not having made preparations pa rations at least it ie is fair to eay say to him min what preparations did you make when for the first time vou be be came acquainted with the weakness of china with her incapacity to resist lie the advance of russia after that it was only a question of time and of a very hort tim ewhen russia would come to port arthur and extend her influence f in the province ot Man manchuria churl a Y yet et the late government took no steps to u to an understanding with russia on the contrary they refueled to join and france and germany in the intervention which those powers made in order to prevent japan from having port arthur I 1 ao do not iway that they were wrong wron it is s possible of course urte that if they bad had joined they lave made their own terme term but whether that be PO so or not they allowed the opportunity to go by and they did nothing what follow followed td the inevitable followed as it always does 4 the expected happened and bugeia did go down to port arthur and to Talie nwan As to the way russia secured that occupation as to the depre which were made and lind reau dialed ae as eoon soon as they were made ae as to the pr balses which were given and broken in in a fortnight afterward I 1 had better persape eay say nothing except I 1 have always thon glit thet that it was a very wisa wiss proverb abo sups with the devil must have a long spoon the present government did try to come to an understanding with russia Ilu seia we took care to inform her that we bad had no jealousy jea |
