NEWS OF THE WEEK.
WE cannot praise too highly the speech which General Smuts made to the South African Luncheon Club in London on Tuesday. Such a speech excites both pride and gratitude. At last the right words have been said in just the right way. The policy of France was revealed for what it is by a statesman of the first rank in a public speech, and yet there was no lack of sympathy for France. General Smuts, indeed, was quite ready to blame Great Britain for not having done enough to deprive France of all pretext for her policy of destroying an ancient enemy. Stern though the speech was, the sincerity and high moral aim were unmistakable, and thoughtful and tolerant Frenchmen cannot reasonably take exception to a survey which, while denouncing the present lapse, showed so whole-hearted an admiration for the liberal achievements of France in the past.
