Sir Michael Hicks-Beach made three speeches at North Shields on
Wednesday, which taken together are of much interest. The public has fastened upon a blunt expression, "England has put her foot down," in the Fashoda affair ; but his statement that the reconquest of the Soudan had been carried out in consequence of the French efforts to reach the Upper Nile, and as an inevitable sequel to Sir Edward Grey's declaration, is perhaps of more importance. The British Government, he intimated, thought that declaration would be insufficient to check France, and therefore followed it up by conquest,—A we may remark, they did also on similar provocation in Upper Burmah. Clearly a policy so deliberately adopted and success- fully carried out cannot be abandoned even it does lead to
war. We are glad to see that Sir Michael was willing to allow France a free hand in her natural share of Africa in the West.
Previous page
