The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-28

Ciemez, where Queen Victoria is So
journing, viii stay in the south OF
France for FIVE weeks. There he will
guide Great Britain's diplomacy in
silence, having neither the cabinet to
consult nor the opinion of the country
to consider.
Conservatives and Liberals alike are
fretting under the prolonged ret1cence
of Lord Salisbury in disclosing ms east
ern policy. The radicals are very IN
dignant, and are taking advantage OIL
the apparent impasse to raise a popular
agitation which, if parliament were
approac aching its natural term, would
work no end of mischief to the govern
ment.
1t NAV be no fault of Lord Salisbury
that he does not explain his pollcy
clearly to the British public prudence
may excuse his silence, but on all sloes
It is felt that his persistent ignoring Oh
the demands of members OF the mousse
of commons for information as to now
Great Britain exactly stands towards
the European powers is largely due 10
. his known contempt for popular OPINION
when he thinks he can afford 10 sno"
it. Safe in the confidence reposeo IN
him by his majority in both houses, ne
can mt ND his colleagues in the lower
house to evade questions or decline TO
answer and to balk debate on points
which are of the most momentous IN
terest to the country. 1t has been oIteh
stated that even cabinet ministers are
not in Lord Salisbury's commence. ne
is understood to consult on or 70 COM
municate to Mr.. Balfour, SIR Michael
Hicks-Beach, Mr. Chamberlain ana the
duke Of Devonshire all important steps
he may decide upon. But even thls
inner cabinet exercises little or no
power in shaping his policy. Ihere
q probably never was a prime minister
or foreign secretary in English parma
mentary history who so entirely played
loft his own bat and who stakes the
interests Of his government and coun-
try with so little Difference TO the opln-
ions of his cabinet.
The dissatisfaction in parliament only
nartlv reflects the discontentment
throughout the country More ana
more the tide Of sentiment is rising IN
favor of Greece, which is, even in pro-
nounced JJnionist papers, declared TO
have BEEN treated with scant respect
to Justice and humanity. The general
Irritation has been intenSlhed curing
the current week by the prospect Oh
the mixed occupation of Crete turning
ont TO be not the pacific mode OF settle
ment which the diplomatic 1ugslers
r,Yoylised it would be, and by the per-
sistence of Greece in asserting hefselI
against the porte and the powers Inc
occupation threatens to. be very
,nived affair with no common plan OF
atoms dislllzed and misunderstood
nv the CretaE population and earned
ont l,v troops. the best portion OF Whom
de+est their work. AS the process OF
modification develops, the prospect may
brighten up. But one or the nrst meas.
ures proposed to give Crete chance OF
international peace-the coisIltutioIi VI
an autonomous government under
comnetent chiefs not yet wlthn
sioht The few reliable press CORE
snondents who are wiring from Cdnea
and other points concur in stating that
autonomy means to the Cretan OhIls-
tians the root and branch eXtlrpatlon
of the MoslemS and among their not
oblae a free ACQUISITION of more land.
Massacre and spoliation are described
; Is the first principles of Cretan patriot
lem among MoslemS and Christians
alike. though i must be acknowledged
that DISPLAYS Of this sort OF PATRIOTISM
have heretofore been a special prerog-
alive of the Moslem populatlon' uphelu
bv Turkish bayonets.
The Paris Journal Des Debats TO-DAY
publishes a letter from an officer. OF
The French squadron which SHOWS,
true. an awful condition OF aHalrs-
This officer declares that the 1acts ne
sets forth are vouched Tor by the SUI
eeons of the cruisers who are per-
Forming duties ashore. He declares
that many moslem children of tender
ace have been violated by so-called
Christians that boys have been tr1gnt-
f,illv mutilated and babies siashed
with sabres. He ADDS that in war the
Cretan Christians resemble wild beasts.
The tremendous difficulty of governing
on civilized methods such people has
exercised the minds of Lord Salisbury
ard NJ Hanotaux, the French foreign
minister more perhaps than II mas the
statesmen of the other European gov
ernments The lead of English and
French opinion is so distinctly IN favor
of appointing a Greek prince TO ad-
minister Crete that neither Lord Sails
b.,rv nor the French foreign minister
can risk defying it. The Russian gov
eminent has aims of its own, apart
from Justice TO Greece or the pacllca-
ton of Crete. So while the proposals
from England have successfully mad
reference to the nomination of Prince
George of Greece and to Prince Nav
rocordato and those of France to either
of these or to Prince Waldemar OF
Denmark, Russia with its Imperial
srpporters in Germany and Austria
has nut forward first Bose PetroVitch
and next Prince DanilO, both Montene-
grjans IL the actual pay Of the car
undoubtedly the selection of a Greek
prince as governor would help to APP
pease the Cretans. There are now 40
600 of them under arms, capable, under
Greek officers of Offering desperate re-
sistance to a much greater number of
troops than can be employed under
the mixed occupation. If the Cretans
feel obliged to fight. the occupation
will end in bloody fiasco; and with
Greece at bay against the Turk on the
frontier, the European mess will be-
come worse than ever.
The Irish lords and landlords, whom
Lord Salisbury lately refused o re-
Quest for royal commission TO in
fsAire into the administration OF the
land acts. will yet get something like
their commission. BY dint of lobbying
in the house, and worrying without, |
the government is now prepared to /
grant them a commission of the house !
81 Lords This viii he a body after /
+heir own hearts. There viii be no |
nafionalisIs on il to put awkward !
Questions It's practical value weight I
with public opinion or utility for leg /
islation will be nothing. a royal COM
mission would be more effective. Yet /
Lord Salisbury spoke of even royal +
commission with disrespect, calling if /
nothing but a ring, in which the /
combatants fought out their differ
encas. and at the end there was pre-.
scented nothing but a litter of reports.
This litter of reports" hits at other
commissions. including the govern I
snent's Irish financial relations one.
.vhe petroleum committee which re-
sunad its sittings on March 10, SAT !
two days this week. hearing evidence