In the House of Commons Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman opened the
debate by a speech which, though it occasionally showed leanings towards the Boers' view of the situation, was not, on the whole, calculated to encourage President Kruger. Mr. Chamberlain's reply was perhaps a little too vehement in tone, but in substance it was both just and moderate. After obtaining an admission from Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman that he was not against the use of forde under all circum- stances, he quoted a striking letter addressed by Lord Kimberley, after the retrocession of the Tranevital, to Lord Seleorne, in which the former used the following words :—" I entirely agree with you that we should maintain a firm atti- tude. but there is a disposition in so many members of our party to imagine that the Empire can be, and ought to be, maintained without ever resorting to force, that I foresee difficulties when it comes to the real pinch."
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