Sir Edward Grey's reference to Chinese labour was equally explicit
and satisfactory. "It was said that a Liberal Government would be a danger to the Empire because it would stop the importation of Chinese labour into the Transvaal, and would refuse to put taxes on food. He believed that both these things were perfectly true of the next Liberal Government. What was not true was that the Empire was
founded either upon Chinese labour or food-taxes He held that the conditions under which the Chinese were now working in the Transvaal were unnatural and degrading con- ditions, and the time would come when the Transvaal itself would wish that no such experiment had been tried." This outspoken utterance is a sufficient answer to those who declare that the Liberal leaders will not venture to modify the Chinese policy of the present Government. We may also note his reference to the Kitchener- Curzon controversy, concerning Which he remarked that, had there been more strength or statesmanship in the Cabinet, the correspondence would never have been pub- lished. At the time we were disposed to blame the two disputants equally on this score. It has, however, become abundantly clear that Lord Curzon was most anxious in the public interest to avoid publication, and did his best to maintain the wholesome tradition against great servants of the State displaying their differences before the public. No matter what pressure in favour of publication was placed on them by Lord Kitchener, the Home Government should have stood firm. It is on them alone that the blame must rest. Lord Curzon was guiltless in the matter, and we much regret having, on a misapprehension of the facts, assumed otherwise.
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