Lord Fitzmaurice, replying for the Government, said that until they
knew whether the Belgian solution was goiag to be a reality it would be premature to make a definite pronounce- ment. Lord Lansdowne, while urging that the Belgian Government should be given such a chance as ordinary fair play suggested, and that rash and premature talk of coercion should be avoided, declared that all sections of the House were agreed that the situation was intolerable, and hoped that the debate would satisfy the Belgians that the people and Government of Great Britain were earnestly bent on the complete reversal of the existing regime on the Congo. We may add that the subject of the Congo was also raised in the House of Commons on Wednesday, when Sir Edward Grey made a declaration of policy of the first importance. That declaration is, however, discussed by us at length in another column, and therefore need not be further noticed here.
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