The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-08-08 00:00:00

MR. BRIGHT ON THE EMPIRE.

A Mr. Crippen recently drew the attentioa of Mr.
Bright to a warning uttered by Mr. Finch-Hatton.,to .
his electors against supporting by their votes "a party
pledged to the dismemberment of the empire." Mr.
Finch-Hatton, on being challenged, quoted words as
from Mr. Bright to the effect that "the British
Empire is an unnatural hydra, of which the three heads
are India, Canada, and Australia." In reply to this
Mr. Bright sent a letter in which he said: "I never
said any thing like what you quote from :Sr. Finch-
Hatton. You may deny it if you think it u,eful to
do so. I cannot bottom all the foolish sayings of
Tory speakers. Their faculty for slander and lying is
something wonderful." Mr. Finch Hatton has
called Mr. Bright's attention to this letter in a long
communication, in which he gives copious extracts
from speeches by Bright and a pamphlet by Mr. Cob-
den endoi;sed by the right hon. gentleman. In this
letter Mr: Finch-Hatton said:
My attention has been drawn to the enclosed
correspondence which has been published in the news-
papers. Is the British Empire to be dismembered, or
is it to be more closely united for purposes of trade and
defence? This I believe to be the greatest question
the new electorate will have to decide at the General
Election; and, much as I should regret that this
should have been made a party question, I feel it
my duty to point out to my constituents the fact
that, with certain noteworthy exceptions—such as
Mr. W. E. Forster and Mr. J. Cowen—the Radical
party, yourself included, have persistently advocated
the tomer course—dismemberment. A few extracts
from your own speeches will make this perfectly
clear as regards yourself, and I give references that
you may verify them with ease. You say of Gibraltar,
which commands the entrance to the Mediterranean,
and Ts one of our most important coaling stations
in peace and in war: I hope this Government
will send my friend Mr. Cobden to Madrid with an
offer that Gibraltar shall be ceded to Spain as being
of no use to this country;' and again that useless
rock (Speech at Birmingham, Dec. 18, 18(32). You
say of India and the links which form our chain of
communication with it. You have Gibraltar, Malta,
the Suez Canal, Perim, and Aden. You have all the
steppipg-stones to India, and you have India; but
excepting the 30 young gentlemen who find places
there every year, and a profit of £10,000,000, there
is not a single result which is beneficial to the
34,000,000 of population of the United Kingdom'
(Times, April, 1879.) You say of our colonies, All
these territories in Canada, in Australia, in India, and
in South Africa are neither in men, nor in money in
the way of revenue, any strength to the people in the
United Kingdom. On the contrary, they are conti-
nually drawing from our resources' ( Times, Dec. 19,
1879) ; and you say of Canada We are talking
folly when we say that the Government of this
country would send either ships or,men to make
an effectual defence of Canada against the power
of the United States. . . . I do not object to
separation in the least. I believe it would be better
for us awl better for them.' (liansard. "Debate on
Canadian Defences' 1865.") As all these places, with
the exception of the Suez Canal, are integral portions
of the British Empire, if a ords have any meaning, ,
yours recommend the dismemberment of it. Nor do
you leave us in doubt as to the view you take of the
other alternative, namely, a closer union between
England and her colonies, for you say, 'What do the
Imperial Federation League propose? That the
British Empire—that is the United Kingdom—with
all its colonies, should form one country, iine interest,
one undivided interest, for the purposes of defence.
The idea, in my opinion, is ludicrous. . . . The
whole thine is childish, and will not bear discussion
for a moment.' ( Times, Jan. 30, 1885.)"
Mr. Finch-Hatton concludes: "Time exact words
quoted from my speech by Mr. Crippen were at-
tributed to yourself in a leading article of a London
journal, and with the foregoing in my mind I natu-
rally supposed correctly. But as you deny having
spoken them, I must of course apologise for the
mistake. As, however, you have singled out for
special praise by name, reprinted after an interval of
forty years and circulated, the very pamphlet written
by your dearest friend, in which the ^words I have
underlined form the most salient and striking ex-
pression, it is idle to pretend that you have not
endorsed, appropriated, and made them peculiarly
your own, and I must express my regret on all ac-
counts that that jou should so far have forgotten the
courtesy usually observed between gentlemen, espe-
cially members of the House of Commons, as to
describe myself, by necessary implication, as a liar
and a slanderer, because I quoted you by mistake as
having spoken words the exact equivalent of which
you have reprinted and circulated, and recommended
to the people of England as the most healthful and
useful ' they can read.—l am, your obedient servant,
"M. Finn-HATTON?'
lo this letter Mr. Bright has replied as follows:
"Rochdale, July 30,1885.
" Sir,—l have your letter of the 27th inst., with
your many quotations from my speeches and from
Mr. Cobden's pamphlets.
"I assume thorn to be correct, although I cannot
refer to the reports from which they have been taken.
I will not enter into the question of how far they
fairly represent my opinions, cut off as they are from
the rest of the speeches; but the passage you quoted
and on which I have commented, is one which, as you
admit, I have never spoken.
"My remark about the foolish sayings of Tory
speakers is justified by their constant repetition of
charges which I have repeatedly disproved and
denied.
"I am sorry that in my short and hastily-written
note I used terms which were intended to be applied
to the Tory lecturers whose slanderous and false
statements are constantly being forwarded to me, but
which were calculated to give you offence.
"In future speeches I hope you will quote me
accurately, and I will be somewhat more patient in
regard to what you may say.
"History will decide if I am wrong in respect of
the burdens which are thrown upon our people by
our wide Empire and by the wars which successive
governments enter into for purposes for the most
part utterly worthless to the population of the United
Kingdom.—l am, respectfully yours,
"JOHN BRIGHT."
"Murray Finch-Hatton, Esq., M.P., Haver-
holme Priory, Sleaford."