Mr. Balfour's speech winding up the debate, though it con-
tained much that was sound and true, was, on the whole, somewhat disappointing,—probably because the present stage of the Government's action, which we described last week as a transition stage between the open door and spheres of influence, though it may be wise and effective in practice, cannot be easily defended in debate. His best point was perhaps a condemnation of the policy of the dog in the manger as applied to commerce. The fact that countries which used not to manufacture and export now do so does not necessarily mean a diminution in our industries. [Mr. Bal- four might have gone further, and said that if nations grow rich which were not rich before they are sure to become customers of England.] The Government, urged Mr. Balfour, in opposition to Sir Charles Dilke, are not responsible for the growth of the Russian Empire along Northern China, a growth which made her the nearest military Power to Pekin. " What- ever may be the legitimate consequences of these facts, those
consequences must be endured." Mr. Balfour next turned to insist upon a distinction which exists between the importation of e- terms of equal treatment and the questiy A tern-though it was apparently a distinc-
tion tot PRINCE RAN4e of Commons. All that the "open Rvo, 288 page, tr.,(1 16 Ft, door also in cloth, 24. Tifereatment, and that had practically been rr' STODDART.issions, of course, must be made to.
one pet NTCP 1, -re-,:sons, and so, therefore, there could not be absolute equality of treatment to the different nationalities. England, however, was getting her fair share of the concessions. Mr. Balfour ended by a very spirited and well-deserved exposure of Sir William Harcourt's plan of making Jingo speeches with peace-at-any-price perorations. Sir William Harcourt is, in fact, like the American politician who was in favour of a Prohibition Bill but " agin" enforcing it. This is, apparently, Sir William Harcourt's position. He wants to " bounce " Russia by telling her that he cannot fight her, and would not if he could. It does not, we must confess, sound a very hopeful plan.
Previous page
