The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-01
England FavOrs Monroe Doctrine ''as
Monroe Understood It."
HER ATTITUDE TOWARD TURKEY.
Salisbury Says the Sultan
Needs More Time.

Va A@t
OF his romarks, he said with reference To
Venezuela:
IL have been held up as the d~enouncer
of the Monroe doctrine. As = matter OF
fact, although the Monroe doctrine Is no
part OF international law, my dispatch 20
MIR. Olney, the secretary OF state for the
United States. supported IL rs n rule OF
policy in the strongest and most distincs
terms.
sRut when / stated i'm that dispatch,
and rciterate now, that, rs a rule OF policy,
we are the entire advocates of the Monroe
doct inc, we mean the Monroe doctrine as
President Monroe understood IL. In that
sense you will not find any more con-
WINGED supporters than we arc"
Lord Salisbury then turned abruptly to
the Armenian question, and he reproached
the reli qious communities with laboring
under a mistake when they supposed that
England a bound herself in honor To
succor the Armenians. which means to go
to war with the sultan, In order to force
him 10 govern the Armenians.
The Berlin treaty. Lord Salisbury said,
merely bound the ~signatory powers that
II the sultan promulgated certain reforms
they would watch over the execution OF
those reforms. Nothing more. He did
not think anyone could interpret that as
an understanding to go to war. As to the
Cyprus convention, Lord Salisbury con-
tinued, it contains no trace OF an under
standing 20 interfere in behalf Of the sui
tan's subjects.
81 was concerned In the drafting OF both
these conventions" Lord Salisbury said,
: s'and nothing would have induced me to
pledge my country to such a desperate
undertaking."
The speaker reminded his hearers hat
the reforms which the sultan had recently
accepted, although very good reforms.
could not DO expected TO produce good
government in two months.
"They require time to work out" the
speaker went on to say. ''They would re-
ouirc time in a civilized community, and
much more so in a savage and fanatical
community. i hope they will have a
beneficent government as things pro-
gross"
Lord Salisbury then continued by say
ing: "Meanti,ne, by spreading among
the Tdrks the feeling that their dominion
was threatened, these reforms have I'M
fortunately led to the Preparation OF hor-
rors which car only be compared with the
DAYS OF Gcnghis Khan and Tamerlane. I
am aware that many influential people
aver that this was done by the sultan and
his government with set purpose.
Sultan Didn't Order M~assacres.
"My own opinion Is that the sultan's
government is weak. wretched, impotent
and powerless; but it Is q dream to
imagine that he ordered the perpctration
of those cruelties. In my Judgment there
Is no ground for thinking SO. It was race
faction and creed faction, driven to the
highest point in their most corrupt n
most horrible form, which brought upon
the wretched Armenians these terrible
sufferings.
IF you ask why we have not interfered,
I can only answer for England that we
could have threatened what ] may call
annoyances in the seizing OF customs here
and there; but when you are dealing with
the rising of n whole fanatical population
against q population with whom they
have been at bitter emnity for ages, and
who are s~ituated In mountains, far re-
moved from the seashore, you are deceiv-
ing yourselves Il you imagine that Eng
lands arm, long as it is, could have lone
anything In mitigation. Nothing but q
military occupation could have done it,
and England does not possess the power for
military occupation Mt that distance.
"Mr. Gladstone wrote In n letter that
England could cope with five or six Tur-
keys. That was O most ill-judged and
rash observation. II the sultan would
meet us on the open sea, undoubtedly we
could cope with Ave OF six sultans. But
II Is not worth arguing the possibility OF
England occupying these inaccessible prov
inces. I am not bound TO answer the
question why Europe did not interfere. I
say, confldentially, that none of the pow
ers wished to interfere, and I believe their
view is that, with patience, the sultan's
prestige, which Is the only power left in
the country, will ultimately r~e-establish
order aud allow industry and
TO take their usual secure course.
'That is their view, and it Is our duty
TO give tho snltan time. 1t Is not for mo
60 pass Judgment on that view, but no
other remedy has been suggested. 1t Is
some encouragement TO find that already
some degree OF order Is being restored. IL
you do not act with the great powers, you
must act against them, and produce ca
lamitics far mora awful and terrible than
the Armenian atrocities"
In conclusion, Lord Salisbury referred
TO the recent patriotic demonstrations in
the colonies ia tho face OF tho threatened
AoIti~n Olh iiCtbiOu,s u btius Il Univ
not how much we are isolated, II we are
united. An example has been set which
will shed a benefccnt light on the latest
generations of Englishmen."
Lord Salisbury, at the opening OF his
speech, referred To the recent Transvaal
crisis as throwing q lurid light upon what
might happen II home rule were granted
20 Ireland. AZ soon as the Transvaal was
IN trouble. no pointed out, It applied TO
tho foreign powers. instead OF TO England,
for support.
A Confession of Failure.
An editorial in The Chronicle Uiberal)
this morning describes Lord Salisbury's
speech rs 'the most amazing utterance
that ever fell from the lips OF the governor
OF a great empire at the crisis Of its for
tune. Lord Palmerston. in his widest
aftcr-dinncr escapades, could not have
beaten it. IL will do England grievous
harm In the eyes Of the world. He be-
slowed bat one word upon America, and
a. had better nave been u~nspoken. We
take leave TO tell him that he Is playing
with fire again. He should have said