We -are reminded-Of the lover in-French fiction whose passion knows,nothing
between-the extremes of adoration and hostility. He either:hugs or he- strikes ; . and :both.manifestations .are. pro- bably related. " And-all men-kill the thing theylove," We ought not to be surprised, however, that Mr. Asquith-tries to kill the Manchester Guardian, nor shall we be surprised if- next week he tells withat he-loves-it-for the. Spectator .has-had at least one experience of the incalculable passions of statesmen. We pub- lished some years ago a statement by Mt...Cecil:Rhodes' secretary thatlfr. Rhodes was a.subscriberto the -Liberal Party funds. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, with the support of -Sir William Harcourt, announced that this statement was - "-a lie." Mr. Rhodes thereupon produced his correspondence with the Liberal. organizers at the time when they had accepted his considerable contribution. Of course, we had been supporting a principle which-the passionate Sir Henry :Campbell-Bannerman theoretically- adored—the principle that -no contributions should be accepted by a political party which that party would not care to avow. Nevertheless, instead of making grateful love to us he tried to give us a black eye. Very odd -Is-there not material for an inquiry by our psychologists into the -moods of statesmen ?
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