The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-05-15
A SIGNIFICANT SPEECH
MI. chamberlain's address at Birmi

Mr.. Chamberlain's address at Birming
ham, Friday evening, strongly accentu-
ates the drift Of British sentiment favor
able to an Anglo-Saxon alliance-not
merely passive assent, but a growing
conviction Of ultimate. necessity, to save
both England and the United States from
an isolation full of possible peril. To
the average Englishman such an alli-
ance seems perfectly natural and philo-
sophical. There is to him nothing new
or novel, much less dangerous, in the
proposition. The suggestion Of a Latin
alliance, and of pan-Teutonic alliance
-of a combination Of all the races Of
Europe against the English-the unmis-
taxable tendency of events looking to the
still further isolation Of Great Britain.
can have but one effect upon the Eng
lish mind. America can possibly con-
tinue to find both pleasure and profit,
II not continued security. in a. condition
of isolation that might be ruinous to
Great Britain and her vast interests in
the eastern hemisphere. Mr.. Chamber
lain makes no concealment Of the peril
Gus position into which his country is
helplessly drifting. He points signift-
cantly to the situation in China, the hope
of the British manufacturer for future
market, but where, as he points out,
England must count with Russia, ex-
cept that we do not possess an army or
q defensive frontier. and cannot there
fore injure Russia without an ally"
Ergo, unless an alliance with the United
States, with its newly acquired pos
sessions In Asiatic waters, on the one
hand, and the robust Japanese power on
the other, can be brought about, the
destiny of the Chinese empire is likely
to be determined without the vote of
England. British trade in the orient will
be doomed, and America will be COM
PEELED to assert her rights at fearful
cost, ard secure a future market for her
surplus productions and manufactures at
the expense Of her traditional policy.
There is nothing obscure or involved in
Mr. Chamberlain's horoscope. In his
speech he admirably succeeded in his
avowed purpose of making plain state
ment of the facts, unfettered by the mys-
teries and the reticences Of the diplomacy
of half century ago, which, without
revealing secret negotiations, should be
understood by the people,"
Nothing could be palmer than the prop
ositions he laid down. They prove be-
Cd ~ ork-
ance Of an alliance with the United
States, from the English point Of view.
They are strikingly ingenious, and free
from even an attempt at concealment or
guile. And after candidly confessing the
perils Of British isolation, he disclosed the
remedy in this frank statement:
There is a powerful and ,generous ma
ton, using our language, bred of our
race, and having Interests identical with
ours. 1 would go so far as to say that.
terrible as war may be, even war itself
would be cheaply purchased if In great
and noble cause the Stars and Stripes
and the Union Jack should wave to-
gether over an Anglo-Saxon alliance.
Such a declaration scarcely needs in
depreciation. 1t will be taken as an off,
cial announcement that the powers must
keep hands off during the present strug-
gle between Spain and the United States,
and that England, even at the expense of
war, proposes to see that there shall be
no European interference with the terms
Of settlement to follow.
Whatever policy the United States may
ultimately adopt. it certainly cannot, in
this emergency, afford to scorn the prof
fered help. 1t is offered without solicita-
ton, and, as we have said, without con-
cealment of the national selfishness of
which it is the inspiration. 1t is made
perfectly manifest that England stands
ready to join hands with the United
States. 1t is. obvious that the move
ment in that direction has behind 1t
something more substantial than mere
sentiment. 1t is very apparent that it
has taken a deep hold upon the British
mind, and that it has been accumulated
by recent events in the east, as we'll
as In the west, by the peril Of England
In the orient, and by the growing men,
ace to the United States Of the ILL
concealed hostility of Europe to Ameri-
can aggressiveness, as indicated by the
necessity which has arisen OF taking pos
= session Of Spanish territory far from our
borders. and the apparent, ii not real,
purpose of future interference in Eu-
ropean politics.
In the affairs OF nations, no less than
IN those Of individuals, ut takes two to
4 make bargain" and an Anglo-saxou