The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-11-01 00:00:00

SIR M. HICKS BEACH'S REPLY TO

MR. BRIGHT,
Sir M. Hicks Beach, being entertained at luncheon
at Birmingham on Monday by the Conservative Club
of that totvn, made a speech, which was principally
devoted to a reply to Mr. Bright's observations on
Saturday at Manchester. He said :

Do not suppose for a moment that I am going to pit my-
self against Mr. Bright. ('Oh, oh 1") I am quite aware
that it would be foolish to the last degree on my part to
make any such attempt. Mr. Bright is a man of whose genius
and of whose eloquence the country that has given him
birth must always be proud (hear, hear), although some of
us might wish that that genius and that eloquence had
been dercted to the promotion of a better cause. (Hear,
hear.) But lam well aware how incapable lam to attack
so doughty a champion as Mr. Bright. ("No, no.'') This,
however, I will venture to say, that if I attempt a few
remarks upon the oheervations which fell from Mr. Bright
at Manchester on Saturday, they shall not be made in
the spirit if his speech. (Eiear, hear.) Hit great genius,
his marvellous eloeuentie, hate; to my mind, too often
been enatred—l think in the minas of his greatest admirers
intist too ()hen have been marred—by an exhibition of, feel-
ing towards his political opponents which appears to me
uncharitable in the last degree. (Hear, hear.) Mr.
Bright appears to me never to give a political opponent
credit for common honesty or belief in the opinions which
he professes. We Conservatives, according to him, are all
either fools or knaves (laughter), and possibly sometimes
both. (Renewed laughter.) Well, I will not ,follow the
example which has been set by the great orator in this re-
spect. I will venture, however, in the tOmatks whieh I
shall make to atate as far as I Can the plain and simple facts;
end / belleVe that if the plain and simple facts are correctly
stated, they will counteract the effect even of the eloquence
of that great orator, Mr. Bright. (Applause). Now, Mr.
Bright told his audience at Manchester on Saturday that if
Mr. Gladstone and the Liberal party had remained in office
there would have been no danger of war with Russia and
no war against the Ameer of Afghanistan. I believe that
statement, as far as the present moment is concerned. is
absolutely accurate. It the Liberal patty had been in office
and that party had been guided , by the opinions which
Mr. Bright profosse3..thet.o cbrtainlY would have been no
danger el: war ivith Russia and there would have been
no war With the Ameer of Afghanistan; but I believe that,
perhaps at this present time at which I am speaking, you
would have seen Russia in Constantinople and the Ameer
of Afghanistan practically a vassal of that great
Power. (Cheers,) Now, to my mind, the expenditure of
six millions, for which we are charged with great extrava-
gince, was a flea-bite in maintaining that which the
country and Pgliament ha's approved 23 the honour
and interesti of England, as compared with the immense
etpenditure Which, if no check bad been given to the
designs of Russia, the country would have had before long
to incur. (Cheers.) Mr Briyht is good enough to say that
if tbp Liberal partY had reinained Its, office there would
have been no Au/tt war. (Cheers.) I confess I should be glad
to tea tome arguments put forward in support of that opi-
nion. (Hear, hear.) No such arguments, at any rate, were
mentioned in Parliament when that vilF,t;;; ;;;;;;
and if we look back to the Inferences that may be drawn
from what has occurred in past years, I think we shall find
that Liberal as well as Conservative Governments have
occasionally found it necessary to Wage wars in defenee of
our colonial possessions. Well, the Government have been
blamed for annexations in the Transvaal, in the Fill Is)ands,
and, in Afghanistan and ip,ZoluNid. nulnlend is not
annexed (cheers), and Afghanistan is not nianexed. (Cheers.)
The policy / ventured to state the other day in reference to
these countries has been one of defence and not of do-
minion; and with regard to the Transvaal and Fiji, ills
singular that if annexation of those two colonies was dis-
approved by the Liberal party, the House of Commons was
never asked by the Liberal party to express their opinion in
accordance with those views. (Hear, hear.) I had the honcar
,during the last aumtner of being prpsent at a mettin.g in
I,Ondon, presided over by Lord Granville,. attended by Lord
lbcrh and Lord Carthvollot Ole/It Air. Elladqtone himzelf,
bat for an unfortimate eugag3ment, 'would have been
preirent, at *hich Six Arthur Gordon, the present Governor of
141, delivered a lecture in explanation of his policy in that
colony. There was no word of disapproval from Lord Gran-
ville, Lord Cardwell, or Lord Selborne of our connexion
with the colony of Fiji—no word of disapproval of the
annexation of Fiji was expressed in Mr. Gladstone's letter;
and I repeat that, so far from the policy having been dis-
approved at the time at which it was initiated,. it mat .01th
the perfect anti unanioeonas.ppro,al cif all Dirtleiv In Parlia-
ment. (applr.ause. Ter,e, scain, the caf.a of the Transvaal.
d-. 3 not ttink that any Government has been anxious to
increase our responsibilities in South Africa, but the an-
nexation of the Transvaal two years ago was accepted as a
necessary action by all but a few extreme politicians in the
House of Commons, and among the names of those who spoke
and voted in favour of that step you will find all the official
representatives of the Liberal party. Therefore, I think it
somewhat late in the day and some what unfair for )Ir. Bright
to put forward these acts of the Coneervatite Go'verntent as
acts of which the Liberal eovernineh!l fairzld dicappro7a,
Bir Michael Hictze teach then proceeded to defend
the financial measures of the Government, and showed
how, in 1861, Mr. Gladstone took the same course as
the Chancellor of the Exchequer was taking now, He
pointed to the success of the ministery with the Irish
University Bill; and observed that Mr. Bright's
remark about the land queotion requiring to be dealt
with with a stronger hand was, in the face of the
present agitation in Ireland:, almost redr.Nes f. its '
wickedness