Perhaps the most interesting speech on the first night of
the meeting of Parliament was that made by Lord Lane- Aowne. He, at least, gave us some information. As regards fiscal reform, he intimated that the Government" sympathised" with Mr. Chamberlain, but proposed for themselves a smaller scheme, more power to negotiate about duties, their motive being that they regarded fiscal reform as an enormous question, and declined to be " rushed " into settling it. As to the criticisms on his own Department, the movement into Tibet, which had the concurrence of China, was not an inva- sion, but only a Political Mission intended to induce the Tibetans to behave properly. They had refused to keep their agreement to demarcate between Tibet and Sikkim, they had interfered contrary to treaty with our trade, and they had seized our subjects, besides being very insolent in their way of conducting all correspondence on those grievances. It was impossible to tolerate such behaviour, and Colonel Younghusband had therefore been despatched to warn and impress the governing monks, who despised all remonstrances from Pekin. As regards the Far East, discussion, Lord Lans- downe thought, was unadvisable, as Japan would accept no mediation ; and as regards the Near East, the Government, while accepting the plans of reform devised by Russia and Austria, had warned the Sultan that if those plans failed, others of a much more far-reaching character would be laid before him. It was a sensible and clear, if rather colour- less, speech.
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