Mr. Balfour made a spirited and amusing speech in the
House on Tuesday, on a motion for the appointment of a Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs. He said that the proposal was undemocratic and impracticable, and that the evils for which it offered a cure were largely illusory. He did not think that the French Parlia- mentary Committee was successful enough to be adopted as a model, and he pointed out that the Foreign Relations Committee of Congress was required because the Secretary of State could not be a member of the Senate. or the House. In regard to Lord Grey of Fallodon's agreements with Russia as to Constantinople and with Italy as to Dalmatia, Mr. Balfour said that they must be considered in relation to the circumstances in which they were made—in the critical moments of a great war.
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