2 DECEMBER 1911, Page 18

In the House of Lords on Tuesday Lord Courtney opened

the debate on the Morocco question. He spoke with approval of the Anglo-French Agreement of 1904, and asked why it should not be possible to conclude a similar agreement with Germany. If only the Act of Algeciras had been borne in mind the recent crisis over Morocco would have been avoided. Unhappily Sir Edward Grey had run the Anglo-French Agree- ment to death while forgetting the Act of Algeciras. He had no conception of a family of nations in Europe united by friendly ties, but thought only of Europe as necessarily divided into hostile camps. The language he had used to the German Ambassador was "inexplicable." Mr. Lloyd George's speech was bound to create a warlike feeling. It was an undignified thing. Lord Courtney ended with a most ill-judged and offensive attack upon Italy.