Sir Edward Grey was the principal speaker at a Liberal
meeting held in Manchester on Friday week. The speech was strong and sensible throughout, but we particularly welcome the tone of his references to foreign policy and the Chinese labour question. While deprecating unnecessary discussion of the former topic, Sir Edward Grey stated his firm belief that the Liberal party as a whole accepted the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and the Anglo-French understanding, both in the letter and the spirit, and it was in the spirit which pervaded those agreements that any Liberal foreign policy would be carried on. "They would enter into no engagements and no relations with any other Powers which were inconsistent with or prejudicial to those agreements ; but if it were fairly under- stood and accepted in the world that the Alliance with Japan and the Agreement with France implied no hostility, as they (the Liberals) intended that they should imply no hostility, to any other Power, then there was no reason why Great Britain should not be on cordial and friendly terms with every Power which accepted those two agreements as integral parts of our policy." That is a thoroughly satisfactory statement, and supports to the full the contentions in regard to Liberal foreign policy set forth by us elsewhere.
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