In the House of Commons on Monday Mr. Asquith announced
that the Government held to their decision not to take park in the Panama Exhibition at San Francisco. They were not convinced that there was any widespread desire that they should take an official part, nor would it be practicable at this date to change their mind. A contingent of ships would be sent for the opening of the Canal to show British goodwill, and to prove the importance which the British Government attached to the occasion. We are not surprised to learn that Mr. Asquith's decision has been received with deep regret in the United States. At the beginning, we confess, we were strongly opposed to all idea of taking part in the Exhibition, because we believed (as we still believe) that exhibitions are somewhat overdone, and that commercially it is unsound to spend the taxpayers' money on them.
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