The failure to co-operate sooner was due no doubt to
that common cause of paralysis in emergencies—the inability to recognize that things cannot " be and not be " at the same time. The foreigners either defended their Settlement or they (lid not. If they decided on defence they were bound to accept the responsibility of all the consequences it implied. As Bishop Butler said, " Things are what they arc and the consequences will be what they will be. Why then should we wish to be deceived ? " It must be remembered that there are a good many foreigners who live outside the Settlement. If the object was to save life, it was necessary to dispose the defending lines in such a way that life-saving would be possible outside the Settlement as well as inside. For our part we could not read with patience the flimsy questions of the Opposition in the House .of Commons on Tuesday as to whether the defenders had transgressed the boundary of the Settlement.
Previous page
