Lord Beaconsfield replied to Lord Granville very feebly. He knew
very little, and seemed to care less, about the questions put to him. In relation to the asserted misconduct of our troops in South Africa and the executions in Cabal, he surmised that the appetite of the Liberals for atrocities was always leading them to discover mares'-nests, and denied all knowledge of cruelties in either country. He suggested that we might have to settle Afghanistan on the old principle which obtained before Dost Mahommed's time, of regarding it as a num her of independent chieftainships. He asserted that not one. tenth of the Afghan people were hostile to us ; and he concluded by a great flourish against the disloyalty of Home-rulers, intended to reach the ears of the Orangemen of Liverpool. A skirmish between the Duke of Argyll and Lord Cranbrook finished a debate of no great significance.
Previous page
