On Thursday Mr. Balfour, speaking at the two kindred and
seventeenth anniversary dinner of the Edinburgh Merchants' Company—a corporation with an income of 285,000 a year and about 21.000,000 of accumulated capital—paid a, handsome and well-deserved compliment to Sir William Harcourt as leader of the Opposition. The relation between the Leader of the House and the leader of the Opposition is a very curious one. They are in the closest proximity, they daily sit within a few feet of one another, they are constantly engaged in criticising one another, and they are occasionally engaged in co-operating with one another. "I really know no relation and know nothing like that in ar y other relation of life outside perhaps the married state." Sir William Harcourt had always shown the highest gifts as leader of the Opposition, and had always supported "the dignity of the House and the greatness of the Empire." Mr. Balfour went on to deal with what is a very serious matter, though one usually ignored,—namely, the terrible in- crease in the work of Ministers. At the Foreign Office the increase was crushing. It was said, indeed, that now more despatches were received in one day solely dealing with Africa than "in Lord Palmerston's time from the whole civilised world." That is perfectly true ; but it must be remembered that the Foreign Office is doing work which is not really its business,—the work of governing what are really Colonies. The Foreign Office is responsible not only for Egypt, but for Zanzibar, British East Africa, Uganda, and a host of other African places. With the exception of Egypt, which is still too international for severance, all these places should be transferred to the Colonial Office, which would administer them far better, and on clear and recognised principles. The silly slavery muddle in Zanzibar would not have happened under the Colonial Office, for they recognise there that slavery is not a thing to be played with by diplo- matic dialecticians.
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