The San Francisco call., 1898-01-19
Repeats Salisbury's Warning, "There Is a Limit to For
 bearance.
AS TO SUGAR COUNTIES.
Believes That the Continental Ma tons Will Soon Realize the Bad
 Policy of the System.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

LIVERPOOL, Jan. 1s.-The Liver pool Chamber of Commerce gave a banquet tonight to Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain. Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal were also present. MT. Chamberlain was greeted with an ova- tfon and a special cheer was given for Mrs. Chamberlain, who was with him.
 Mir. Chamberlain in the course of a vigorous and important speech re- ferred to the great changes in com merce during the last twenty years. He said: Since the great powers were bitten with the megalomania with which the Germans are accustomed to taunt us, as if it were our exclusive peculiarity, the German empire has in- creased six fold and the French four fold, while England has only added a modest third to her colonial empire"
 Answering the argument that it is useless to colonize barren wastes he pointed to the magnificent enterprise of the Canadian Pacific Railway that had opened up 8 vast country of the greatest wheat fields. and was about to open what was, perhaps, the gold fields in the world.
 Looking to the certainty" he said,
 that we are likely to be excluded by hostile tariffs from any country where the British flag does not float, our present policy is to take 8 very firm attitude and to maintain free mar kets. What the foresight of our ances- tors has done for US in building a great empire, we must continue to do for ourselves. This is not the policy of aggression nor lawlessness. We have a three fold duty: First, to keep what rightly belongs to us; second, in Lord Rosebery's admirable words, to peg out claims for posterity,' and, third, if any one tries to rush those claims, gently to prevent them" Laughter and cheers.l
 Referring to the fact, "our sacrifice of territory and our general forbear- ance and deference to the sensibilities of our allies have only resulted in our being told that we are the best hated nation in Europe" he repeated Lord Salisbury's warning, there is a limit to this forbearance."
 After repetition of the old Zollver- ein operations, which he described as Tess absurd than some have supposed" :" NT. Chamberlain said: We must seek in our own family the strength and support we shall never find from for eign nations, and with this in view we must be ready to respond to any Colo nial overtures, without seeking pecu- niary recompense, but looking to the wider interests of the future"
 Then came the weightiest portion of the speech. MT. Chamberlain reviewed at length the West Indian question and the report of the Royal Commission thereon, and emphasized the great in- jury of the bounty. system which, while ruining the West Indies, brings a gain estimated at two million pounds yearly to Great Britain"
 The Government, he said, believed the country generous and just enough to remedy this crying injustice" He was glad that Belgium had anticipated Great Britain in calling a conference on the subject and hoped this might succeed better than former conferences
 There were many objections, he con- tinued, to countervailing duties, which would involve us in commercial treaty differences with foreign nations" but the main objection was that while the trade they wished to save amounted to 260, 600 tons, Grat Britain's own sugar imports amounted to 1,500 900 tons. It seemed unscientific to benefit the former by injuring the latter.
 Therefore" he said, 'the Govern ment has decided to exhaust every al- ternative before having recourse to such drastic measures, and feeling that the recommendations of the commits sioners, though good, would not work quickly enough, the Chancellor of inc Exchequer has consented to propose to Parliament a very large grant in aid to the West Indies. The grant will not be so large as the incidental gain Great Britain derived from the bounty sys- IA, but Ial Tor able the industry and the population to tide over crisis, until Continental nations recognize the impolicy of the bounty system"
 MT. Chamberlain expressed his con viction that the immediate relief meas ures to be proposed in addition, which he said he could not as yet explain in detail, would stimulate the sugar in- dustry and enable all well-managed es- tates to hold their own, while tendinp to the ultimate prosperity of the col. ony."