The Portland daily press., 1896-02-24
OBSTINATE BUT WEAK.
Chamberlain and Balfour Do Not
Agree With Him on Many Points.
AN ENGLISH OPINION OF premier
SALISBURY.

Salisbury Takes Little Pains to Inform
Himself of the Views of Other Able Eng
Iish Statesmen or the Drift of Public
Opinion-If He Did There Would Be a
Sudden Fastening of the Venezuelan
Affairs - smalley's Gables to the
Times-Did They Represent the Semi
Official Views of the Administration?
London, February s2.-Ballard Smith
cables to the World today: The propo.
sition communicated to the London
Times of last Tuesd ay by it's correspon
dent, Mr.. Smalley, cabling from Wash
ington, is practically declared by him to
be that of President Cleveland and his
Cabinet.
sit is neither the propo sal of the
Times" he says, "nor mine. The plan
which I sketched is one which this 1.-THE
American) government is ready to pro-
pose officially as soon as it has reason to
believe it would be accepted by the
British government. or to accept at once
it propose by that government
There being no denial of any sort that
Mr.. Smalley spoke with authority on this
point, the proposition is accepted here as
the official, If informal. statement of the
United States government for the settle
ment of the Venezuela controversy. It
has, as the press dispatches doubtless
have reported, been accepted by the
Times as satisfactory to Great Britain
except that as at first understood here,
it did not admit the Salibury contention
of last autumn-that arbitration should
not extend to the districts settled by
British citizens.
ABOUT SETTLED" DISTRICTS.
Bnt after Mr.. Smalley had cabled and
the Times had.. accepted his assurance, that
the Washington government was willing
to consent to "a preliminary agreement
by negotiation upon some definition of
settled districts, and upon some definite
rule in accordance with which all
questions relating to such districts should
be determined" other cable dispatches
have reported that The World and other
New York newspapers oppose the oonces-
sion on the part of the Washington gov
eminent
In Yesterdays letter, quoting The
Mr.. Smailey says:
need not remind the readers of the
Times that the New York World has al
ways been opposed to jingoism. 1t is
now. 1t urges in the same article that
to forbid Venezuela TO concede the
nritish claim, or any part Of it, is not an
acceptance but denial Of arbitration"
The Times has this morning no further
communication from Mr.. Smalley nor
editorial reference to the subject.
l am told that the statement of the
British case. which Sir Frederick Pollock
has been assiduously preparing, will be
Issued on Monday. The (Tory) Standard
declares that "the government regards
the British case as historically unassail-
able. although the diplomatic aspect of
the matter is by no means free from con.
fusion''
The London press, possibly from jeal
ousy of the Times, has had very little to
say Of such an important proposition
made through the medium Of It's GORE
spondent except that the (Liberal)
Chronicle says this morning:
LIKELY TO BE SLOW.
"We need not assume that the Ameri-
can proposal has in its entirety been re-
jsoted by Lord Salisbury, but our present
information Is that matters have reached
a less hopeful and final stage than is in
some quarters assumed. Indeed, we are
not sure that any decisive action will be
taken by our own government until after
the report of the present commission. II
that report were favorable to the British
claim cur government might be inclined
to say that the case was ended, and that
the only further step to be taken was for
a merlca TO bring pressure to bear on
Venezuela.
sion can come to any authoritative con-
clusion. Its report is likely to be delayed
and to bring us perilously near to that
great rock ahead-the American elections
while this question, fraught as it is
with innumerable dangers, is left open"
The Times itself opposes Mr.. Smalley's
plea for speedy action or decision by
Lord Salisbury, and deprecates anything
like haste. 1t adds the suggestion that
all the negotiations be transferred to Sir
Julian Pauncefote and the Washington
government SO that. in default of any
direct diplomatic relations between Great
Britain and Venezulea, the Venezuelan
to the United States may be at
hand in case of need.
AS to the chronicles statement above
quoted, recall to you that The World IS
cables for some weeks back have iterated
the fact which have had on substantial
that the Prime Minister has
been obstinate in his opposition to any
concession, or, indeed. to any retrooession
barring the necessarily abandoned
Sshomburgkline, from his reply to Secre-
rary Olney.
I | have today further confirmation,
which also goes to explain the almost
voltoface of the Times this week from its
previously isid sustention of the atti-
tnde of Lord Salisbury, inspired by him
CHAMBERLAIN AND BALEOUR.
1t may be that the present conservative
advice Of Mr.. Balfour and Mr.. Chamber
lain has proved more nice and more
potent than the resotionary opstinaoy of
their chief. l have shown you how
difficult the Prime Minister is to move,
W hen persuaded of his own view of any
question !; how little he exposes himself,
to outside counsel, and how
,alsmitous has frequently been his bad
judgment to England, as just now illus
bratsd by the bloody failure of his Ar
nenian policy, dating lack to tine treaty
Of Berlin.
My present confirmation is the state