On Friday week, at a great meeting at Southampton, Mr.,
Balfour announced the settlement with Russia of the North Sea incident. There would be a Board of Trade inquiry, conducted, he hoped, with the assistance of Russian repre- sentatives, and an international inquiry by a Commission of the kind contemplated by the Hague Convention. Mean- while that part of the Russian fleet which was concerned in the outrage would be detained at Vigo pending the ascertain- ment of the persons responsible for the occurrence. These would in their turn have the question of their guilt investigated by the Commission, and if found guilty would be adequately punished. The Russian Government had also promised liberal compensation to the sufferers by the outrage, and had guaranteed that special precautions would be taken to guard against the recurrence of such incidents. He ridiculed the statement of the Russian Admiral that two torpedo-boats had attacked him and then retreated behind the fishing fleet. Such an allegation was nonsense on the face of it, there being no Japanese warship within fourteen thousand miles, and a slur upon "our honour as neutrals." Of the conduct of the Czar and his Government he spoke with courtesy and appreciation. The wheels of diplomacy, especially Russian diplomacy, moved slowly, but the Czar had never "underrated the gravity of the crisis, or failed to do what he could to diminish it." Russia had admitted the principle they contended for ; it only remained to ascertain the details. He trusted that" the spirit of reason and justice, which had brought us through the most difficult parts of this controversy without the supreme calamity of war," would still be present to carry the question to its final settlement.
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