Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-09
SPECIAL LONDON LETTER Venezuelan Gossip in the Con-
 servative Clubs. GOVERNMENT IN A CORNER Liberals Will Force Lore Salisbury to State His
 Line of Action. SIR DAVID CHALMERS ADMISSION The Flying squdron Has No Destination. Italy Tries to Make Peace Between
 Emperor William and His Grandmother.
GOVERNMENT IN A CORNER
SIR DAVID CHALMERS ADMISSION

London, Feb. 8.-A report that was gen. erally credited was current in the con servative clubs here last night that the government would be able in the house of coml ions to foil the attack of the oppo- sition on the Venezuelan question by an- nouncing that negotiations for the arbi- tration of of the Anglo o-Venezuelan dis pute had been opened. Nothing can be said relative to the precise form the Iib- erals criticism of the government will assume until the leaders of the opposition get time to scan the queens speech open ing the session of parliament, which will be read on Tuesday next. It is under stood that the speech will contain an as- surance, vaguely put, to the effect that the government has under conSidera tion proposals that offer a prospect of a peaceful solution of the dispute. If a more definite ministerial statement can not be obtained, then an amendment to the address in reply to the queen s speech, distinctly affirming that arbitra- ton ought to be accepted by Great Brit ain, will be moved by Sir William Vernon Harcourt.
 No meeting of the leaders of the liberal party will be held until Monday, but to- day several influential members of the party in the house of commons met Elk Prime Minister Rosebery, with view to discussing the general line of action to be followed. The party is solid in it's de- termination not to allow the difficulty With the United States anent the British Guiana boundary dispute to drift further. It will not submit to rebuffs by the min isters pretending that there Is necessity for reticence, nor will it accept excuses based upon the habitual dilatoriness of the foreign office
 eAc oft tl,a In favor of there being no delay in the arbitration of the question, the liberals will have strong grounds for insisting upon explicit and candid official expla- nations of the present situation and the policy of the government.
 The conservatives assert that Lord Rnseberry will find himself in an awk- wrd position in assailing Prime Minis teF Salisbury, as documents in the for eign office prove that when Lord Rose bery held the office of secretary of state for foreign affairs. from 1892 to 1894 in which latter year he succeeded MT. Clad stone as prime minister, he refused to accept arbitration.
 The papers which have given prom thence to the views of MT. Markham, he holding that Venezuela inherits no claim to any part of the so-called British Gui- ana, and the views of other persons sup porting the British contention, have not noticed remarkable tatement made by Sir David Chalmers who spoke before the Edinburgh Geographical society. He was chief justice of British Guiana from 1878 to 1894 and has special knowledge of the country He deliberately affirmed that out of the 109, ,000 square miles sup posed to form British Guiana's widest territorial claim, Venezuela can claim two-thirds with absolute honesty. He would not say that these two-thirds be- tlonged to Venezuela, but would only state that the territory could be claimed by Venezuela on grounds strong enough to be submitted to arbitration, justified in private life or submitted to a court of justice.
 In the direction of fostering an entente with Russia, Lord Salisbury will assent to the acquisition by Russia of an harbor in Kianchan bay, which opens into the Yellow sea from the east coast of the Shan-Tung Promonto railway, under the guise of leasing the place as naval de- pot from China for twenty years Mr. Balfour the first lord of the treasury in his speech at Bristol on Monday night last surprised the country by inviting Russia to secure a port on the Pacific The acquisition of such port by Russia has heretofore always been strongly op- posed by Great Britain on the grounds that it's possession by the former would be a menace to her possessions in the far east. Advices from Shanghai are to the effect that several Russian warships are already wintering in Kianchan bay, and this is believed to partly explain MT. Bal four's invitation. It is believed that the entente will include Great Britain's as sent to Russia securing another port far to the southward of Vladivostock, her present port in eastern Siberia, which will be free of ice and adapted to form a commercial outlet during all the year.
 According to the Speaker, the porte Vs1i 10 of Io Dardanelles, will purposely leave the Bos- phorus open, for a Russian fleet may ap- pear off Constantinople within three weeks to protect the sultan against ris- ing.
 A serious effort has been initiated by Italy, supported by Austria, to restore the friendship between Great Britain and Germany, which was greatly strained by Emperor Williams message to President Kruger of the South African republic. The effort has obtained the active ap- proval of the queen, but does not seem to be appreciated by Lord Salisbury. Count Nigra, the Italian ambassador to Austria, after his recent visit to Rome, received instructions from Signor Crispi. the Ital- ian prime minister, to arrange for con- eerted pressure from Rome and Vienna upon Berlin and London to bring about the end desired. These instructions re- suited in Austrian and Italian communi cations being sent to Berlin, In which was pointed out the danger to the triple a1li- ance arising from the breach between Germany and Great Britain, especially as regards a possible entente between the latter country and Russia. It Is also understood that Signor Crspi made spe- cial approximations to Lord Salisbury on the continuance of the Anglo-Italfan agreement for naval cooperation in the Mediterranean in the event of develop ments in the east
 If the British view of these negotia- tfons Is accurate. Berlin has shown a readiness to respond to her allies and would cease. her hostile policy towards Great Britain, but SO far as the latter is eoncerned the die ts cast. The entente with Russia has gone too far. Uniess the German government renounces its South African schemes. supports, Gre? Britain in Egypf and dsgenerally reverse Ks recent line of diplomatic enmity. no