Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman followed the mover and seconder of the
Address in the Commons in one of the most animated speeches he has ever made. The burden of it was a demand for more light on the aims of the Somaliland and Tibet Expeditions, on the Chinese labour question, and, above all, on the fiscal policy of the Govern- ment. They had practically a new Ministry in power, but was it a new Government with a new policy, or the old Government with a new policy P Sir Henry Campbell. Bannerman commended Lord Lansdowne for his action in regard to Macedonia, and expressed cordial approval of the main principle of the new War Office scheme. In regard to the Chinese labour question, he deprecated debate until all the documents had been laid on the table and a day given for the discussion of the question, but strongly demurred to the view that a Crown Colony, in which freedom of opinion did not exist, could be treated as a self-governing community. Reviewing the evolution of Mr. Chamberlain's policy, Sir Henry Campbell- Bannerman caused great laughter by reading extracts from a work by Sir William Anson on the duty of Cabinet Ministers who dissented from their colleagues. The Government's policy of retaliation had never got beyond the stage of phrases and generalities,—e.g., did it mean Parliamentary or merely Executive action? What the Opposition wanted to know was what the Government's policy was, and whether it was to be put into operation, or merely meant for show; and further, what was the exact relation between the minor and major, the official and the quasi-official, policy.
Previous page
