The times., 1898-10-03

Balfour would give. Mr. Balfour is in
deed TO their mind Lord Salisbury's only
possible successor in the present anxious
times, but Mr.. .Balfour's appointment 10
the foreign office necessitates his resig-
nation of the leadership in the house of
The New Diplomacy.
Now there are only two conceivable
successors to him In the leadership of the
commons-Mr. Joseph Chamberlain and
Sir Michael Hicks Beach. AS for Mr.
Chamberlain. the Tories of the Unionist
party will not have leader who is not a
Tory like themselves, and who, moreover,
is welded to what is knewn in British
politics as the new diplomacy, as opposed
to the old diplomacy which Mr. Balfour
follows:
Mr.. Chamberlain being thus impossible,
Sir Michael Hicks-Beach also becomes
impossible, for the ministry dare not pass
Mr.. Chamberlain over. Hence, Mr.. Bal
four must retain the leadership and can
not be removed TO the foreign minister
ship.
Lord Salisbury, too, will retain the
headship of the foreign Office for the
same reason, the impossibility of over
problem with which the ministry is now
face to face is where to find a man of
sufficient experience and weight to really
direct British policy under Lord Sails
bury's nominal lead. Lord Cromer stands
almost alone as marked out for such a
position. To his brilliant statesmanship
England's brilliant successes in Egypt
are largely due. Lord Cromer had the
option of going 10 India as yiceroy, but
he did IN la will hal he.
given chance of doing even greater
work for the empire at its very heart
with the idea OF himself succeeding to
the titular position of foreign secretary,
should Lord Salisbury later on find an
opportunity TO resign
Deal i'm Africa
How vital it is that the present almost
headless condition of the British foreign
office should cease is patent. To say
nothing of China, il is clear that another
gigantic all-round deal in Africa is in
course of negotiation between the Eu-
ropean powers. England, Germany and
Portugal have practically concluded an
agreement.
The inevitable sequel of this Anglo-Ger-
man-Portuguese deal in East and West
Africa is a6resh deal also with France.
who is buildfng UP vast empire in the
north and northwest, TO which she hopes
eventually TO add a center b. succeeding
to the Congo Free State.
One hears this week significant hints
that If Fran6eshould show signs of prov
ing nasty over Major Marchands mission
| TO the Upper Nile and her claims in the
/ Bahr FL GhaZelo province. England might
ease herr honorable retirement of the Up
! per Nile by helping on her ambitions as
] regards Morocco or the Congo Free State
4 However thatimay be. the feeling in the
governing classes here is that the mo-
ment has come when England must have
a firm, definite, and astute lead in foreign
affairs, just such a lead as man like
Lord Cromer could give
Frances Sad Plight.
To English sympathetic observers there
seems as yet no way short of disaster
or national humiliation out of the terrible
mess into which France has been led over
the Dreyfus affair. 1t has become for the
moment duel between NJ. Brisson, fight
| ing for honesty and revision of Drey
| fuss sentence, and the army, fighting
against theleXposure of the horrible rot
tenness which has become widespread
among the general staff Should NJ.
| Brisson carry his point, who can say
what the soldier and populace may not do,
in the belief that a corrupt faction,
/ financed by Jews. is attacking Frances
one mainstay, her army?
On the other hand should the army and
! the general staff succeed in avoiding ex-
posure, then France will stand before Eu-
rope as at the mercy of any army dicta-
torship regardless of law and liberty.
How then" as Sir Weymss Reid asks in
the Speaker today. could France ex-
pect to be longer regarded as among the
great powers?'