The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-10

tho late war with Spain. By THE Sun, at
all events, tho value OF those services has
not been moderated. We are, Of course,
aware that no answer has been given to our
German and Irish felow-citzens who have
demanded positive proof, embodied In
diplomatic correspondence, that n proposal
for Joint Interpolation was made to Eng
land by one or more Continental
powers and was by her repealed. There
are times when negative evidence Is
every jot as cogent as positive evidences;
when omission Is as decisive rs commits
sion: and when the silent reputation OF n
traditional policy affords unanswerable
proof Of change Of heart. We were
enabled to embark upon the war with
Spain the more freely because, in the
spring Of 1893, the British Foreign Office
receded from position which IL had main
tanned inhexibly from the day Of GEORGE
CANNING tn our own. the position, namely,
that 1t could not sanction our treating the
Cuban question rs one In which we were
solely concerned, or even as one in which
Spain and the United States were exclu-
sively Interested. As lntely rs 1879.
we we're deferred from interposing on
behalf OF the Cubans by the knowledge,
distinctly conveyed, that both England and
France adhered to that position. In 1903,
on the other hand. England folded her
arms and treated the Cuban question as
one affecting Spain and ourselves alone.
That was. az we have said, new depart
ure in British policy; It was meant as an
act Of friendship. and should be acknowl-
edged as such by fair-minded men. When
we admit, however. that an obligation was
thus incurred, we are not debarred from
the inquiry How far should the obligation
carry us? Naturally, II would incline us to
sympathze with Great Britain, were she
made the target Of Continental coalition,
or even were she involved in a war with
State which. though ostenslbly small,
had in the field, as Spain had at the he
ginning Of 1898, an array OF disciplined
soldiers ten times more numerous than
the opposed regular army, and n navy
equal to SPANS. which a British subject,
Admiral CoLoMB, predicted would prove
itself superior to ours by reason of
its better armament and greater eff
cheney. II Is equally certain that the
obligation incurred by us in 1898
does not bind us to set at naught an
elementary sense OF justice and the instinct
OF fair play. It does not constrain us to
wish godspeed to the virtual aggressors in
a contest unparalleled In history for the
disproportion OF the forces engaged, a con-
test in which the stupendous resources OF
the British Empire comprising some four
hundred million subjects, are enlisted
against the Boer population OF the Trans
wal aud the Free State, which, according
to the latest official data, falls short OF
100000, including women and children.
In this South African business Great
Britain has been led. under Mr.. CHAMBER
LAINs guidance to undertake to overcome
and subdue the Boer republics n arbi.
trarily rs though the United States should
march tomorrow upon Canada in order n
confirm our paramountcy upon this con,
tinent. The American people cannot be
expected to applaud such an exhibition,
however determnedly they retain their
stand among England's international
frianda