Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-10-30
Joseph Chamberlain's Mo-
table Address IN House
of Commons.
Says Spanish : American
and TransVaal Wars
Are Parallel.
America Aided Another
RaCe=Britain Helps
Own People.

London, Oct. 26.-Apart from the di-
version created by Michael Davitt,
there was a lively scene in the house
of commons between Gavin Clark,
radical member for Caithness, eX-
agent of the Transvaal, and Major
Rasch, conservative member for the
southeast division of Essex. Clark
denied Rasch's statement that he
Clark, was in the bOer camp until
the fight at Majuba hill and character
lied the assertion as "a sample of the
misrepresentation now prevailing. "
Rasch retorted that the statement was
made on the authority of Clark him
self, who told it to him six years ago,
adding that if CLARK again denied it,
he would repeat the statement to him
outside parliament and he could take
what steps he liked. Sir William
Varnon Harcourt, former liberal leader
of the house, said he desired again to
call attention to the prOvOcation Of the
secretary of state for the colonies, Mr..
Chamberlain, during meetings and in
his speech at Highbury. Mr.. Cham
berlain replied, repudiating any in
tentiOn to be provocative, saying he
only intended to be plain and free from
ambiguity. He only followed, in the
negotiations, principles observed by all
statesmen during the past ten or
twenty years he people are entitled
to demand a cleaA expression. In his
view, there was never the slightest
justification for the statement that
Kruger had ever been in doubt. Mr..
Chamberlain said:
cit was necessary to impress upon
Kruger the seriousness of the step he
was called upon to take and the conse-
quences which would follow any mis-
take on his part. 1t was not desirable
to include in the official dispatches
collateral suggestions and indications
of opinion, but the semi-official warn
ing was frequently conveyed in
speech"
Regarding Michael Davitt, Mr..
Chamberlain said he recognized he
had hitherto discussed the matter
moderately and sincerely. ''And
would pay the greatest attention to
his arguments if I did not know he
would use precisely the same argu-
ments in regard to any British war,
those arguments being based on his
emnity to England. What would have
been the Irish argument in the Span
ish-American war. in which Spain
showed herself infinitely less capable
of defending herself than does the
Transvaal?" Here Redmond, the
Parnellite for East Claire shouted:
"The Transvaal did not blow up
your warships."
Transvaal a Worthy Foe.
Mr.. Chamberlain continued: "The
great, almost determining contest be-
tween the United States and Spain was
fought without the loss of single
American. We never denied that the
Transvaal was a foeman worthy Of our
steel. Not only was the disparity be-
tween the forces in the Spanish Amer
lean was as great as those now en-
gagged but the contention of the United
States and their right Of interference
arose from the fact that, some distance
from their territories, there was an
oppression not of American citizens but
of another race of people that justified
the intervention of the United States
in the mind of the civilized world-at
any rate, in the eyes of Englishmen
and Irishmen. But we are interfering
in behalf of our own people. It is GER
tain that Davitt, but for his hatred of
England, would sympathize with us as
he did with America. There has been