Lord Salisbury's speech was marked by but one important announcement,
the announcement that Ayoub Khan, the Lord Salisbury's speech was marked by but one important announcement, the announcement that Ayoub Khan, the Afghan pretender, had surrendered himself to the Indian Government, and so put an end to the anxieties which his escape from Persia had caused. For the rest, he congratulated Europe on the improved prospects of peace, declaring that though while the armaments of Europe are so heavy, and are on the increase, equilibrium can hardly be regarded as stable, he yet knows nothing "within the compass of diplomatic ex- perience" which could give ground for uneasiness. He con- gratulated the country on the removal of the difficulties with France as regards the Suez Canal and the New Hebrides, and took a sanguine view of Mr. Chamberlain's prospect of settling our Fisheries disputes with the United States. He believed that every Sovereign and every head of a State, including the Presidents of Republics, are profoundly anxious to maintain peace, and that if there was any real danger of war, it was in some unexpected gust of popular passion.
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