The Portland daily press., 1900-01-31

tone OF Mf. IMAM Eerihiuh spseohes
In that connection, however. he
paid warm tribute to the conduct Of
the soldiers In the field and the loyalty
Of the British colonies.
The Earl of Kimberley said that al
though the Moment was one Of deepest
gravity he would not entirely abstain
from criticizina the conduct Of the gen.
ersls. II was the duty of the government
to select men to conduct these operations
and II was their duty to support the
country. IL was therefore unwise 10
criticize the generals In these operations.
He did not mean 20 imply that tie gen.
erals were NOT doing their utmost to full
ali their srduous duty, but In order that
the government might prepare for what
might happen.
Continuing, Lord Kimberiey said:
ave might meet period Of disaster. and
although our relations with the other
powers are friendly, II would be well to
consider the possibilities of the future,
and 1t would be we'll II the government
prepared for all svsntualitlss and all
dangers and bs ready with the means 10
surmount them. The government does
not seem to have been aware Of the scale
Of preparations Of the South African re-
publics.
Lord Kimberley urged that the govern
ment ought to have been aware Of the
Importation OF arms into the Transvaal
and ought to have informed the Trans
vaai that unless It dssistsd 10 must result
In Great Britain sending large force 10
South Africa. He could not believe the
government was 90 ignorant OF the prepn-
rations Of the Transvaal and they could
not divest themselves Of the responsible
ty. Lord Salisbury. in reply to the Earl
Of Kimberley, asserted that there was
nothing in the stipulations Of the conven-
lions to limit and hinder the importation
Of arms and ammunition into the Trans
vsal through Lorenzo Marques.
Continuing, the premier said: why
were we to know about the impor tation
Of armsf believe guns were introduced
into the Transvaal In boilers, and NUM-
tions of war In plano cases. ave have
small secret ssivi:e fund. II you
want information you must givs
much money" Consider the enormous
amounts spent by other govern
ments, especially the Transveal, which. l
have heard on high diplomatic authority,
spent SOD. 900 pounds IN q single year, and
the small sums spent by England,
making 1t impossible for US to have the
omnisoisnos attributed to us by Lord
Kimberley"
Later the premier admitted the deHcien-
oies Of the existing system, remarking
that the treasury had acquired power
which was not to the public benefit.
1--WE must join together" he said,
ing ourselves from q situation full Of hu-
initiation and not free from danger. I
will not eay the danger may not have
easily been exaggerated. Many a country
had commenced a war with difficulties Of
the kind We experience. We have work
Will oh appeals to US as subjects OF the
Q9een and Knslishmen, and 1t must throw
In the shade all thoughts of party ex-
pedisncy."
Lord Salisbury then said he regretted
that Lord Edmund Fitxmaurioe, In the
House OF Commons, was about to bring
this great issue into party controversy,
adding that the only place where his
action would meet with sympathy was in
Pretoria.
Lord Rosebsry, who followed Lord
Salisbury, spoke with great force and
earnestness. He asked why the premier
made 1t 40 difficult for the msn-in-the-
strset to support his policy. The past
conduct of tho government would come
up for Investigation some day, he hoped.
adding: "we have the right to know II.
before the crisis. the intelligence depart
msnt supplied the government with
srfii Client Information. II not dismiss the
department. II the government possessed
the information their responsibility is
heavy.
al Was appalled, at the nature and style
OF Lord Salisbury's speech. We have now
100 GOO men in South Africa, yet we are
with difficulty holding our own. The at
tituds OF foreign nations Is described as
friendly. But that does not strike me as
being go am,oRbls as the word would i'm
ply. deem IL necessary TO know what
the government Is going to do. Lord
Salisbury said the cause Of our disasters
WAS the smallness OF the fe,ret service
fund and the British constitution. But
what Is the governments duty. Some
form OF compulsory service must be intro
duoed to meet the growing exigenoies of
the empire and am sure the nation will
not shrink from either that or any other
sacrifice to preserve the empires predomi-
nance. That we could not shrink from
sending away vast masses Of troops. situ-
atsd as we are in the center of a universe
by no means friendly to us, without
having hint from the government OF
the military measures 1t proposes taking
to face the disaster We have met, and the
sacrifices we have made, is one Of the
NEST extraordinary features OF the British
constitution. l agree with Lord Salisbury
that the country oan carry this thing
through in spite of all the impediments