, 1888-11-07
The Great English Illusion.
From the SPECTATOR

Rent with us; moderation OF peace condl-
tions on promise of a common war against
England Such is the simple matter-Ot,
fact entry in the Diary of the Crown
Prince. That there is no comment, no
surprise, no word of Indignation expressed
that the MAI whose wife had sought an
asylum in England, and who intended to
take shelter there himself if things came
to the worst, should nave made such Il
proposal, may partly, no doubt, be set
down to the laCOniC style OF the Diary.
We must not forget, however, that the
Crown Prince, though personally a man
of the highest nobility of mind aud chival-
~ of disposition, was accustomed to the
intellectual attitude of the great politicians
of Europe towards questions OF foreign
policy, and though he himself would never
nave stopped to such actions, he was far
too intimately cogniSaut of the way III
which Such matters are regarded III the
inner circle of European diplomacy, and
by the SovereignS and Foreign Ministers
of the Great Powers, to feel any special
establishment at the Emptror'S proposal.
People in general talk Of who ought to
have this or that part Of Turkey, and
make plans for paltitioning Morocco or
TripOli, and, indeed, the whole Of the re-
manning so-called unpoSscSSed portion OF
Africa, with perfect CalnncSs. The
crowned heads OF Europe only do the
thing on a bigger scale. When they DIS
cuSs whether Belgium and Switzerland
shall he paItItoned or Holland absorbed,
they have no more sense OF pcIhdy IN
what they propose than if they were talk
lug of the East Coast Of Africa. The
minds of the great European Ministers
work entirely detached from the comSid
,.-.:1.. uI:.I, 4, ar.t .l,l5n,,,- ,,riy-1fa- N
dividuals when they discuss questions OF
conduct. They judge matters from a
purely Intellectual standpoint. If such,
and-Such an alliance or combination
against a now friendly Power Will be for
the real benefit of my master or OF my
country, | must bring it about without re-
ference to any other considerations, that
is the attitude of the men who WELD the for
eign policy of Europe. In comparing 1t TO
the attitude of Europe in general III regard
TO savage countries, we have no desire to
defend it, or 10 suggest tOI a moment that
because it may be, and often Is, morally
right to partition the land OF twenty or
thirty tribes in Africa. it is therefore right
to partition Belgium. That is by no
means our intention, For ourselves, we
hold with ordinary English public opinion,
that there is an immense difference be-
tween the two cases. We merely use the
analogy to explain the attitude Of the pos
SCISSORS Of power in Europe outside Eng
land, as they would themselves explain it.
The accident that the Empress had fled
to England, and that the Emperor follow
ed her, no doubt gives a peculiarly I'M
pleasant colour TO NapOleon's proposal
but it is absurd to call him names for hav-
ing made it. Louis Napoleon did plenty
OF abOminably mean and abOminably crl-
minal things, even when judged from his
own low standpoint of honour and mora
lily but. to condemn him for making
schemes for the destruction of England,
and for looking upon the States of Europe
as merely so many pieces on the chess
board, is, in truth, unreasonable. Louis
Napoleon's proposals are simply repre-
sentative of the general European notions
of State policy as held by the great states
men, and ought to be taken into account
by all EngIishmen. We shall not alter
them either by ignoring them or by treat
ing them with horror and Indignation.
We trust, then, that English people will
take the disclosures in the Grown Princes
Diary to heart, and will realise what our
position actually is in regard to the States
of the continent. England, no doubt, IS
herself sincerely anxious to let her neigh
bours alone, and to apply to international
questions the morality that governs Uho
- Il 1AnE