Birmingham state herald., 1896-11-10
THESE ARE WE|CHTY WORDS Significant Utterances of the Prime Minister of England. BRITISH POLICY OUTLINED The Venezuelan Controversy, He Says, is
 Practically at an End. THE EASTERN QUESTION WEARS SOLUTION He Hopes that the Powers Will Be Able to Convince Turkey She Is Drift
 ing in the Current To-
 wards an Abyss.
THE EASTERN QUESTION WEARS SOLUTION

London, Nov. 9.-There was a sumptu- ous display tonight at the banquet mark ing the installation into office of Mr. George Faudel Philips, the new Lord Mayor of London. The banqueting hall of the Guild hall was crowded, many of those present being of worldwide celeb rity, including Prime Minister Salisbury the Rt. Hon. George J. Goschen, first lord Of the admiralty; George Hamilton, sec- retary of state for India; Lord Halsbury, lord high chancellor; the Rt. Hon. Chas. T. Richie, president of the board of trade; Gen. Lord Wolseley, commander-in- chief of the British forces; Gen. Sir Her. bert Kitchener sirda of the Egyptian army; the Rt. Hon. William Court Gull ley, speaker of the house of commons and the Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, the American ambassador.
 Interest centered in the speech made by Lord Salisbury, it being the custom dn recent years for the prime minister at the lord mayors banquet to make statement regarding the foreign and do- mestic policies of the government
 Ambassador Bayard replied to the toast, '"rhe Foreign Representatives
 When Lord Salisbury arose to reply to the toast, Our Ministers" he received an ovation.
 After thanking the lord mayor and the others present for the warmth of the welcome extended him, he said:
 I thank the ambassador of the United States for his presence here and for join ing in great historic meeting. By the few words he has uttered he has raised his own plane of observation so high above the mere level of party tie, though contrary to practice to remark upon the internal policies of other states, I may be permitted without impertinence, to congratulate him upon the splendid pro- nouncement the great people he repre- sents have made in behalf of the princi- pies which lie at the base of all human society. (Cheers) It Is rather embar- rassing to have to turn therefrom to the rather unimportant controversy his coun- try and ours have had in recent months l only do so for the purpose of expressing the belief thatit is at an end. You are aware that in the discussion had with the United States on behalf of their friends dn Venezuela, our question has not been whether there should be arbitration, but whether arbitrations have unrestricted application. Our difficulty for months has been to define the settled district, and the solution has, I think, come from the government of the states that we should treat our colonial empires as we treat individuals; that the same lapse of time which protects the latter in in civic life from having their title questioned should similarly protect an English colony; but, beyond that, when a lapse could not be claimed, there should be an examination of title and all the equity demanded in regard thereto should be granted.
 q do not believe I am using undue sanguine words when declare my beliet that this has brought the controversy to an end. Loud cheers)
 Tt is a matter of no small satisfac- tion to the government that at a time when anxious social questions, which are far more important than political questions, are troubling the United States and therefore troubling the world, we should remove any semblance of po- litical difference that might hinder com mon action in defense of the common heritages of society.
 We have had an anxious year at the foreign office, but we have foated into a period of comparative calm, and I do not intend to trouble you with matters that have passed away"
 Lord Salisbury then proceeded to the Turkish question. He repeated the ar guments against Great Britain taking isolated action against the porte, and emphasized the fact that the military oc- cups tion of Turkey would be necessary if such action were taken. Great Britain he declared could not occupy the country unless she established conscription. He pictured the risk of a European war and then said that the six great powers must act in concert Any one of these powers was able to veto the others. He denied that the powers were acting on 
 for difference of opinion. The motives influencing the British government must influence all conscientious rulers Her majestys government, he added, had been urged by the Right Hon. John Mor- ley and others to abandon its policy of the past and renounce certain lands in which case the foreign powers would &C., cept Great Britain's policy.
 Continuing, Lord Salisbury declared that the concert of Europe seemed to be in a more favorable condition to extir pate the terrible disease in the east than ever before He eulogized the speech made on Tuesday last by M. Hanotaux, the French foreign minister, in the chamber of deputies. He did not, he said, expect that France would try to baffie the action of the European concert, while, he added, the triple alliance had always been in sympathy with the Brit ish doctrines regarding the eastern ques- tion
 Lord Salisbury repudiated the idea that there was necessarily permanent antagonism between Great Britain and Russia. Such an idea was supersti- tion of anticipated diplomacy. He had, he said, good ground for believing that Russia had the same views. He did not desire to imply that there was any power with which Great Britain would special ly act. He only protested against the idea that any power was specially Great Britain's opponent.
 He would not say there would be diff hculty in concurring in any scheme to exercise force if the other powers agreed, but he did not know whether the use of force was meditated against Turkey. He referred to the latest promises of re- form made by the sultan and said that the future alone could determine how far even such humble promises as these would be realized He hoped the DOW CTS would be able to convince Turkey that she was drifting in the current towards an abyss and that they would succeed in dfverting her before she arrived at thes edge.
 VIEWS OF ENGLISH PRESS.