Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-11-10

island because they have constructed
a great commerce of which they are
| proud. The islands. therefore. are of
great value to them. To us. on the
| other hand. the islands are generally
| only valuable when they furnish good
| harbors. tpolu furnishes a very bad
| harbor. You will remember the great
| hurricane when British man of war
| escaped and when German and Ameri-
can men of war We're driven ashore
| Well, in these circumstances. We We're
| glad to accept a remuneration of the
| treaty claims and right of dominion
over another island Tonga. where there
is an admirable harbor. We took the
harbor and Germany took the territory
| in which for many reasons the Germans
| are interested.
Il believe We have arrived at a very
| remarkable phenomenon. an agreement
| which is agreeably pleasant and ad-
| VantagcouS to the powers. but this Is
| interesting. particularly because it in
| dicates that. at the present moment.
| our relations with the German people
| are all we could desire.
The great subject that interests all
of us. is his war adorned with so many
i splendid feats of heroism and skill. but
saddened by 50 many losses. | have
great difficulty in dealing with the war:
| and if | attempted to deal with the flu
| ture, it has been undertaking Il task in
| prophecy from which the hardest would
shrink. If [ speak at all, it may rather
| be to deprecate criticisms and state
| mentS which | think unfounded than to
attempt to pass judgment on what still
| depends upon the future for its full
| determination.
| Respecting the feeling expressed
twice or thrice that the want of troops
is due TO a want Of action on the part Of
| the home government | would point out
| that there have been two or three
| voices. Two or three months ago we
| Were told by the most authoritative
| voice outside the government that
| there was no occasion for military
! preparations. Since then we have been
| blamed because there We're no military
criticism is at all relevant to the
events which have been taking place
1t has been often said. especially
| abroad. that Wo are astrong nation
! attacking q weak one: but. so long as
| the principal part of our force is sep
arated by an interval of five or six
weeks from the field of action. il would
rather be true to say that We ares
weak nation fighting Il strong one. Ee-
! mentS of distance are vital and essen
| tal in this matter
1t would have been nothing to the
| purpose to issue proclamations for re-
serves some weeks earlier. For. what
was the cause of the war. and what
was the cause Of the ultimatum? II
| was not because Of any demand We
| had made. 1t 50 happened that, at the
| moment the ultimatum was issued we
had withdrawn our demands. and there
We're no demands before the Transvaal
| government. 1t was because we had
taken measures to increase the amount
of our forces in South Africa But. If
| that had been done a few months soon
or exactly the same result would have
taken place. The moment you had
shown signs of raising your force to
an equality with the force opposed to
it, hat moment the ultimatum would
have been issued and war would have
begun. Cheers.
1T is not. therefore right to say that
there was not adequate military prep
aration. The evil goes further back
1t dates to those unfortunate arrange
deliberately permitted community
obviously hostile to enjoy the I'M
bounded. unlimited right Of accum-
mulating munitions of war against us
Year after year an accumulation Of
munitions was made which could only
be directed against US. Hampered by
these arrangements it was impossible
we should avoid the interval of trial
and danger necessary to intervene be-
tween the moment when war was de-
Clared and the moment when our
forces could accept contest and appear
upon the field.
II THAT interval has nearly passed.
: Our troops are beginning to arrive.
Foreign nations have complimented us
upon the calmness with which have
received the intelligence of occasional
checks. Whatever strategy there
, might be We are we'll aware that the
|, beginning of our conflict with the