The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-08-12
LONDON NEWS AND GOSSIP.
The Consistency Between American
mud British Diplomacy.

LONDON, Aug. 11.-An astute English
public mar was asked not long ago what
he regarded AZ the keynote of Great Brit
aims foreign policy ttader Lord Salisbury.
You will do WE'LL he replied. Ito seek
it. not in Downing Street. but in. Wash
ington.''
The turn which events are taking in
China is pointed to as confirming this view.
Lord Salisbury may not take nis lead from
Washington. but he certainly prefers hne
Of policy which preserves consistency be-
tween British and American diplomacy.
Only those who have been behind the
scenes in British politics during the last
few weeks can realize what influences Lord
Salisbury must have resisted before COM
ing to the decision wh!fh his Under Secre-
tary. Mr. Brodrick. announced just before
Parliament rose. The Queens Government
is not alone resolute against any partition
OF China but will have nothing to do
with pulling down or setting up Chinese
Governments" That is to say, the policy
of one-third at least of Lord Salisburys
most persistent and vocal followers in the
House of Commons has been rejected, and
rejected on the eve of a general election,
when solidarity is most sought after
So soon, then. as the outrage at Pekin
has been punished England retires to her
seabosrd-places and her ships. That is
Great Britain's policy as read today in the
official declarations of the Foreign Office,
and. so far as Washington intentions are
understood here. it is also an Anglo-Ame
lean policy. 1t is a policy such as Mr..
Gladstone might have propounded, such as
Lord Salisbury himself could never have,
propouSded In his Disraelan days, and will
have to be adhered to in the face of the
great aud continuous opposition of the
newly formed China League and chambers
of commerce OF. manufacturing England, of
whose opinions the league is making itself
the focus.
These are the probabilities in China as
unofficial experts here see them. and not
even Lord Salisburys warmest admirers
look forward to firm or even consistent
British policy under the political pressure
which they are bound to provoke from sec
lions of the British opposition, which no
Tory Government can long neglect.
Those who claim to read the journalistic
signs of the times say that sc soon as the
war in South Africa dies down. we age to
hear more of Englands danger from in
yasion- The speeches of Lord Salisbury
and Lord Rcsebery will give the Journal
lists all the text they need. and for mate
rial they have only to turn TO the series of
volumes being published in Paris under the
historical section Of the general staff of the
French army. These volumes are three in
number. ard present complete studies Of
the French plans of invasion of the British
Isles. In the first volume just published
Captain Desbriere shows, by an ingenious
tracking CT meteorological curves, that the
expeditions of 1896 to 1897 failed only be-
cause the French Admiral refused to wait
day or Two longer for a storm TO lift
before returning to Brest. The second
volume will treat of the expeditions subse-
quent to 1897. while the. third will be de-
voted TO Napoleon's extensive preparations
at Boulogne.
1t is not pleasant to think of the posi-
Bile effect of these publications upon
Frenchmen after a financially disastrous
exposition. and upon Linguistic English
men under the lashing of sensational jour-
nalists. Happily. England is not wholly
given over to Jingoism,- or France to ma
tionalism.
Sir Henry Irving's hint that he might
put Manfred on the Lyceum stage is
provoking a good deal OF chatter in both
dramatic and literary circles. Manfred
it is urged, is not dramatic work at all,
but virtually a monologue and Irving in
the title role would be a waste of effort
Clement Scott, who may still be considered
the leader of the older school of dramatic
critics. declares that the revival of Man
fred at Drury Lane in 1868 bored him in
expressibly On the other hand, Mr. Hen
ry Morley. who saw the same revival. was
not bored by it. and both the Drury Lane
revival and original production in 1894
proved successes with the public. Wheth-
er Sir Henry Irving will or will not ven
l;fre remains to be seen. l understand
that it is very problematical.
One of the illustrated papers here pub
TIL
lately discovered in the Peel collection. 1t
is not known to whom the letter was adj
dressed. though 1t must have been ad-
dressed to some author or compiler, as is
shown by the following passage:
Il am grieved to hear that your work
has hitherto been worse than improbable
10 you. What is it that people read? For
we are told there never was so much read
ing as there is now; but ii is a grievous
thing and a shame. that. after so brilliant
a treasure has been recovered out of dark
eager and general attention"
Publishing is practically at a standstill;
that is 20 say, books are being issued by
ones and twos. instead of by dozens. az
during the season. \ notable feature of
the lull however is the number of bog-
raphies OF old masters appearing. At least
three fairly prominent firms are running
biographical series Of this kind, and one OF
them promises two volumes next week
and tive volumes the week after.