NEWS OF THE WEEK.
FOR the first time in her history America is at war with a European Power other than her parent State,—for the purely nominal war with the First French Republic need not be counted. The event is one of the highest moment, both for Europe and America, for the consequences, immediate and more remote, will prove of world-wide importance. In the first place, the war will reveal to the American people a fact of which they have hitherto been strangely ignorant,—namely, that it is not England, but the Continent which dislikes the United States and is their real enemy. Whenever we have had trouble with the Union the Continental Powers have appeared to " back " America, but rather with the idea of making mischief, and so preventing that agreement between the two branches of our race which they so greatly dread, than from any real friendliness to the States. This attitude has hitherto deceived America. It will hardly do so in the future. Next, the war will almost certainly bring America into the circle of the Great Powers, for through its means she will come into con- tact with a thousand European interests. Lastly, the war may change the position of Spain. Spain will in the end lose her colonies, but, in spite of the blow to her pride, this may conceivably mean the regeneration of Spain. Her colonies have been bleeding her to death. When the flow of blood is stopped by amputation and cautery she will gain strength to develop and make use of her vast internal resources, and perhaps those of the whole Iberian Peninsula. In any case, the civilised world will wear a wholly different aspect after the war is over.
After innumerable conferences, the Senate on Tuesday morning at ten minutes to two passed a Resolution arrived at by an agreement between the representatives of the two Houses, the voting being 42 for and 35 against. The conference Resolution is the Resolution of the House of Representatives with the recognition of the Cuban Republic omitted. The Resolution may be briefly summarised. After a preamble stating that the " abhorrent conditions " existing is Cuba can no longer be tolerated, it declares (1) that Cuba Is and ought to be free and independent ; (2) that the United States Government must, and does, demand that Spain shall relinquish " its government, and authority " in Cuba, and withdraw its land and sea forces ; (3) that the President Is directed and empowered to use the entire forces of the States " to such an extent as may be necessary to carry
these Resolutions into effect;" (4) that the United States "dis- claims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control" over Cuba except in order to pacify it, and "asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the island to its people." The Resolution shows a force and dignity, as well as a certain haughty indifference, which may seem strange to those who have not noted that official acts in America have always a stateliness which is curiously at variance with the tone of ordinary American newspaper-writing and speech- making.
At the White House at 11.24 on Wednesday morning the President signed the joint Resolution of both Houses in the presence of the Cabinet, and five minutes later a despatch to Spain enclosing the Resolution, and containing an ultimatum. On the text of the ultimatum being supplied to the Spanish Minister at Washington, he at once asked for his passports, which were immediately sent to him ; and later in the day he left Washington for Canada, where he will embark for Europe. The Spanish Embassy at Washington has been placed under the care of the Austrian Envoy, and Spanish interests will be jointly attended to by the French and Austrian Ambassadors. The Spanish Government, knowing the arrival of the ultimatum, at once prevented its delivery by handing General Woodford his passports. He left Madrid on Thursday. In Madrid, we see with satisfaction that the care of American interests has been placed in the hands of the English representatives, and that the British arms have been placed on the wall of the American Embassy.
The latest war news from America is to the effect that the powerful United States squadron at Key West has sailed, it is believed to begin the blockade of Havana. The corre- spondent of the Daily Telegraph who is with the Key West Fleet describes the five ships which compose it as in splendid condition, and the officers and crews most eager to avenge the ' Maine,' which they all seem firmly persuaded was destroyed by treachery. The Flying Squadron at Hampton Roads has also been ordered to go to sea with sealed orders. Meantime the troops are being hurried to the coast, and the preparations for fitting out an expeditionary force of eighty thousand men are proceeding with the utmost rapidity. These, however, even making every allowance for the feverish energy with which Americans work at a crisis, are bound to take some time, and we doubt if the American troops will be able to sail for Cuba before several weeks have elapsed. The President is making an immediate call for one hundred thousand men, but if the war drags on, as the experts now expect it will, he will want more than that. The wastage from sickness in Cuba during the hot season will be terrible.
It is the nature of Spaniards to be dignified, and under an unprecedented strain they are displaying dignity. The Queen's Speech in particular, delivered when opening the Cortes on Wednesday, is a model of eloquent defiance, without violence and without gush. It might have been spoken by Isabella of Castile. The Queen attributes all "complications" to the "blind current" of opinion in the United States, to which, if the Government of that country yields, insults, "hitherto regarded with indifference," would become "in- tolerable provocations." Spain owes gratitude to "him [the Pope] who represents human justice on earth " and to the Great Powers for their mediation, but "an act of aggression may be imminent," and the assembly of the Cortes has there- fore been hastened, in order to obtain sanction for " the un- alterable resolution of my Government to defend our rights, whatsoever sacrifices the task may impose upon us." "I perform the duty which I swore to fulfil when I accepted the Regency," and "strengthen my mother's heart with the confi-
dent belief that the Spanish nation will display a force which nothing can resist," until her son himself can ascend the throne. " The future shows dark before us, but though difficul- ties surround ns they will not be beyond the powers and the energy of the country." " With an Army and Navy whose glorious traditions make courage even more courageous, with a nation united as one man in the face of foreign aggression, with faith in God, who has always aided our ancestors in the great crises of our country's history, we shall, with no less honour than of yore, pass through this new crisis, which it is sought to bring upon us by provocations devoid either of reason or justice." God has not favoured Spain, which has lost everything ; but, with the exception of that nnhistoric remark, this is a Speech worthy of a Queen of Spain and an Archduchess of Austria. The heart of England will not go out to Spain, but there will be a warm corner in it for the proud yet motherly woman who meets dangers so great with the spirit of her ancestress Maria Theresa.
There seems to be no doubt that the Spanish nation is with its Queen, that difficulties of recruiting have disappeared, and that the remaining wealth of the nation will be freely devoted to the war. Subscriptions are of little use in such a crisis, but much can be done by fresh taxation, by willing receipt of paper-money, and by provincial loans. Enthusiasm in Spain is not like a fire from sticks, but lasts, for it is based upon an incurable pride, upon a strange kind of religious feeling, and upon a solid mass of ignorance. It is very doubtful if the people of the Peninsula are in the least aware of the strength of their antagonists. To them " America " means Spanish America, their accounts of the Union come to them through Spanish-American sources, and they are fall of the belief that the United States are merely a commercial Power. They are in particular convinced that because " Yankees" do not readily accept the low wages and hard fare of sailors, therefore American men-of-war will be defended without courage or energy. This opinion is universal, and will produce great disasters. The Spaniards, however, will probably fight better than Americans, who are deceived by Spanish-American experience, at present think. They are a stubborn race, and they can, as we have elsewhere pointed out, make the war a long one.
The trend of Continental opinion continues to be hostile to America. The Governments are silent, the reports of further efforts to mediate, or to persuade Spain to yield, being all unfounded ; but the financiers are greatly excited by fears of a coming crash, to be produced by the bankruptcy of Spain, and the newspapers are very bitter. The latter are much guided by financiers and diplomatists, and it is quite curious to see how the bluntness of American speech, which they call " boorishness," seems to irritate them. They are convinced that the humanitarian :feeling of the Union is purely hypocritical, and declare that the Union is outraging Spain in order to acquire advantages for itself. The Germans and Italians are particularly angry, and the Russians expect a burst of "militarism" in the United States. Even the French, who usually have a sentimental sympathy with the Americans because of Lafayette, now accuse them of blatant Jingoism, while the Austrians would, if con- venient, fight for their Archduchess. All alike blame England for not seizing this opportunity of putting an end to " Transmarine highhandedness." The mere idea that Great Britain may sympathise with America because she is in the right seems never to occur to them, any more than it °mum to them that to starve two or three hundred thousand non-combatants is rather a serious offence. We see no sign, however, that any Power will act against America, though there are threats of what may happen if hostilities extend to European waters.
The best explanation of the word " Jingo" that we have seen is that it is Basque for the Deity, the expression " by the living Jingo" being, in fact, an oath, "by the living God." No other of the several suggestions offered explains the constant use of this adjective. The word crept among the lower classes from the Basque sailors wrecked in the Armada.
The leading men of France begin to be preoccupied with the elections, which they think involve unusually serious results. The real question before the country, says austere M. Brisson, most trustworthy of Radicals,
is between the Republic and a Dictatorship ; and we are not sure that M. Menne, the Protectionist Premier, does not think so too. At least in his speech of six columns at Remiremont on Sunday he paid extravagant court to the Army, calling it the " symbol of our dearest hopes," and "the loftiest incarnation of the Fatherland before the foreigner." M. Brunetiere, too, editor of the Revue des Deux Mondes, tells the people to reverence the Army, for only through it can they obtain colonies and commerce, as in the last century Great Britain did! The secret idea seems to be that if the next Assembly is Conservative the Army may adhere to it, but that if it is Radical the Army will insist on aggrandising the chief of the State. As to who that chief should be there is no agreement, one section of the "Boulangists " wishing for Colonel Louis Bonaparte, another for a French General now impressing the Staff in Paris, and a third for Casimir Perier, whose proud character has for them a military effect. As yet the symptoms are favourable to a Moderate majority, but in France, as in England, Demos is a silent lord.
The meeting of the Chartered Company held on Thursday at the Cannon Street Hotel elected Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Maguire as directors. Mr. Beit is unable to serve, and so Sir Sidney Shippard is to have the directorship intended for him. Mr. Rhodes's speech was received with the utmost enthusiasm. His first point was that whenever Rhodesia became a self. governing Colony the inhabitants should take over as a debt all the money expended by the Company in the work of " conquest and development." Unless we misunderstand Mr. Rhodes, that seems to us an extraordinarily cool proposal. The Company will not only shift all its onerous responsi- bilities in the matter of governing on to the colonists, but will also charge ten or twelve millions for allowing them to do the work which under the Charter it is bound to do. Meantime, the Company will keep all the mineral and other rights which were granted to it, unembarrassed by the responsibility to govern. The proposal is so preposterous that we cannot help thinking that Mr. Rhodes has not made his meaning clear. Mr. Rhodes, after expressing his strong faith in the mineral wealth of Rhodesia, defended the Company's wonderful Mining Law, under which they cry " halves" in every dis- covery of gold,—not a very difficult task to perform before a meeting of people who may benefit so greatly by the law. Mr. Rhodes's last point was his best. He had submitted a proposal to the Government for a railway from Bulawayo to Lake Tanganyika, eight hundred miles long, costing about £2,000,000. His plan was that the Government should guarantee the interest, and the Company build the line. One would, of course, like to hear further details, but as a rule we are always in favour of railway building. Nothing can prosper in a new possession till the lines are laid. As Mr. Chamberlain once suggested, the Romans maintained their Empire on roads, and we ought to keep ours by railways. Lieutenant Girouard's railway has revolutionised the Soudan.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer opened his Budget on Thursday. For last year the figures are as follows :— Revenue
•••
£106,614,000 Expenditure ...
••• ... 102,936,000 Surplus ••• ••• 12,678,000 A large part of the surplus has already been allotted for various purposes under Supplementary Estimates, and the remainder, £1,128,000, will go to strengthen the Treasury balances. For the coming year Sir Michael Hicks-Beach estimates the revenue and expenditure thus :-
Estimated Revenue for 1898-99 £103,615,000 Expenditure ... 106,829,000 Estimated surplus... £1,786,000 In other words, if he made no change in taxation the Treasury would have an excess of £1,786,000 over the charges upon it. This surplus he allots as follows :— 2100,000 to lightening the Income-tax on incomes between £400 and £700; £285,000 to legacy and succession duty re- ductions and exemptions from Land-tax of properties under £5 in annual value. A reduction of 6d. is to be made in the duty on unmanufactured tobacco, from 3s. 2d. in the pound to 2s. 8d. ; and on other classes of tobacco in proportion ; there is, however, to be no reduction on cigars. The proportion of moisture allowed by law will be reduced from 35 to 30. These three changes would absorb £1,505,000. The margin of the esti- mated surplus remaining is £281,000, which will provide for the possible additional grants for the West Indian Colonies. The relief given to the smaller Income-tax payers is thus arranged :—In incomes up to £400, no change ; between £400 and £500, an enlargement of the abatement from £100 to £150; between £500 and £600, an abatement of £120, there being at present no abatement ; from £600 to £700, an abate- ment of CO. Above £700 the full duty will be paid.
Taking the Bridget as a whole, we consider it to be a very able one. The loss by the Income-tax reductions is not great, and the scheme will give substantial relief in many very hard cases. The reduction of the Tobacco-duty will also be very popular, and we expect in the long-run will be a source of strength, not of weakness, to the Exchequer. The decrease of cost will so enormously stimulate the consumption of tobacco, that in a few years as much revenue will be collected as now. The differentiation of duties against the cigar seems to us unreasonable and unfair. It is based on the assumption that the cigar is necessarily the rich man's "smoke." There is, however, no reason for this except the price. If the duty was not so high, poor men would smoke cigars here as they do abroad. The present arrangement is a belated piece of protection which acts hardly on the consumer.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer was, on the whole, very optimistic, as he had a right to be. He had carefully con- sidered whether we were likely to be injured by the war, but he did not believe that it would injuriously affect either our revenue or expenditure. But even if it did, and difficulties were in store for us, we might find a sense of security in the way in which we now met our financial liabilities. That should strengthen our belief in " the soundness of the financial policy which this country had so long pursued." Surely that is sound sense. Yet there are not wanting people who wish to throw away fiscal advantages so magnificent in order to follow the will•o'-the-wisp of Fair-trade. When the Protectionist Powers have our Budgets and we theirs it will be time to think of abandoning our present system of Free-trade. Sir William Harcourt's criticism of the Budget was formal. There was, in fact, nothing to criticise. Naturally enough, however, he referred with a certain chastened emotion to the splendid results of his Death-duties.
A bust of Lord Randolph Churchill was unveiled on Monday in the corridor of the Members' staircase of the House of Commons, the ceremony being performed by his closest friend, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, who spoke a short speech with great feeling. Lord Randolph was, he said, "one of the very few men of our time possessed of real political genius," who in a time of great trial fulfilled the onerous duties of Leader of the House of Commons " with remarkable dignity and ability," and who had risen to that height in little more than one Parliament from the position of an almost unknown Member. That Lord Randolph had "rare courage, tenacity, and resolution," as Sir Michael says, is true, but with the rest of his eulogium we have little sympathy. Any Duke's son with Lord Randolph's gifts would rise rapidly in an English House of Commons, and if Lord Randolph had possessed political genius he would have retained his leadership. His gifts were shot and spoiled by threads of perversity which made him always dangerous, and we cannot acquit him in the last acts of his leadership of self-seeking so patent that the most faithful of his adherents, Mr. Louis Jennings, openly revolted and accused him of stabbing his adversaries in the back. Lord R. Churchill was a brilliant man who made a deep impres- sion upon men utterly unlike himself—for instance, Mr. Gladstone--but England would not have been safe in his hands.
On Tuesday the second reading of the Vaccination Bill gave rise to a somewhat heated discussion. Sir W. Foster and Sir W. Priestley both gave an interesting view of the medical aspects of the controversy, and spoke in great praise of the new discovery of mixing glycerine with the calf lymph. By this means lymph from a single calf will supply enough vaccine for fifteen thousand children. One great advantage
of the new lymph was that it contained no possibility of con. tamination by blood diseases. Mr. Steadman, the new Labour Member for Stepney, denounced vaccination with great energy, and boasted that the East End Board of Guardians to which he belonged had absolutely refused to carry out the present Acts. There were in Mile End sixteen thousand unvaccinated children. Mr. Chaplin, after drawing attention to the general consensus of opinion in favour of his Bill, mentioned the fact that in future the vaccination officers, and not the Guardians, would institute prosecutions under the Act. This clever turning of the enemy's flank sent Mr. Pickersgill into what we can only call a Magna Charta fury. He spoke quite in the spirit of the Barons at Runnymede, and appealed from the House to the country. In the course of the debate, which was adjourned, it was mentioned that in France parents were given a few eons for bringing in their children to be vaccinated. That is not a bad notion. Why should not each mother have a fee of 6d. per child as her " expenses " for bringing the child to the vaccination station ? That would greatly oil the wheels, and might make it possible to get a great many children revaecinated at seven.
The strike of the colliers in South Wales still proceeds, and involves as usual great loss. It is stated that directly and indirectly two hundred thousand men are reduced to entire or partial idleness, and that the loss to them in wages alone amounts to hundreds of thousands of pounds a week. The trade is slipping away to Durham, and the price for steam coal has risen 3s. a ton. There is as yet no prospect of any settle- ment, the masters declaring that the rise of 10 per cent. demanded would absorb the whole profit on existing con- tracts, and that they can make no arrangement until the men elect representatives with plenary powers, which they have this week on consideration firmly refused to do. We fancy that if existing contracts were respected masters would agree to a rise equal to Is. a ton, trusting to an increased price to recoup them, but we can see no way out of the repre- sentative difficulty, and should like to know its origin. Why do the colliers distrust their own nominees P A great many remarks have been made upon the neglect of Unionist Members to attend divisions, and the small majorities by which the Government has sometimes been supported. The Radicals say this results from the growing distaste for the policy of the ruling party, while outside observers say that it arises from the reprehensible carelessness and indolence produced by an overwhelming majority. Every man thinks that there will be enough votes without his own. Sir William Walrond, however, the senior Government Whip, in a speech at Exeter on Friday week, said that the low attendance was no evil, and quite suited him. His idea of a sound majority was a majority sufficient on ordinary occasions to prevent surprises, and on special occasions to overwhelm the Opposition. " He should not like to have a majority of 140 every day," "that would be very bad policy," apparently because the majority might get tired of voting. We fear this plan, though convenient to Members, is just a little dangerous. They are apt to scatter to their avocations and amusements ; and although they are very obedient, they are not precisely like a regiment in barracks which can be called up by a bugle. Nothing really matters this Session, during which Parliament is only beating time, but laxity in the officers very speedily impairs discipline. One wonders what would happen in the impossible case of there being no Whips. Would all Members attend always, or would all business, except votes of confidence, be left to the paid Benches ?
We regret to notice that the accounts from Hawarden have this week grown slightly worse. Mr. Gladstone retains his faculties undimmed, but it is necessary to meet the accesses of pain with opiates, and the disease, which is incurable, slowly wears out his strength. The sufferer meets all that occurs with the unflinching courage which, as we have always maintained, was one secret of his success as a politician.
Bank Rate, 4 per cent.
New Consols (2!) were on Friday, 109i.
