Sir Wilfrid Lawson on Friday week moved an address praying
Her Majesty to withdraw from all Treaties of intervention. These treaties are fifteen in number, and bind us to maintain the independence of Greece, of Portugal, of Switzerland, of Sweden and Norway, of Turkey, and of Belgium, besides less important things, such as the possession of certain Saxon provinces by Prussia ; and the Member for Carlisle, who loves temperance in all but argument, wishes us to escape from them all. He was defeated, of course, by 126 to 21, and the debate would have been of no importance but for a speech from Mr. Gladstone, who deprecated the importance attached to guarantees ; held that as a rule they -conferred a right to interfere, but did not impose an obligation of interference ; and considered that in reality their value depended on the public opinion of the day. In other words, if we want to -defend Belgium when attacked, we shall defend her, and if not, not. There is a partial truth in this view, arising from the fact that unwilling defence would be of such little use ; but suppose the Treaty to be a bargain, how would Mr. Gladstone act then ? Suppose we had guaranteed Piedmont, in return for her 15,000 troops sent to the Tchernaya, and Austria had annexed her, should we have had no obligation to drive Austria out ? H so, then no Treaty of guarantee is anything but waste-paper, and our guarantee of Sweden in particular, which was a payment for a service, is utterly worthless. We cannot believe the country will reckon this to be the worth of its word.
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