The sun., 1900-03-12
A Striking Cartoon in Punch Thai
Voices the National S SoirIt---Pres.
ent Propositions For Peace
Not Suitable to Brit
aims Wishes.

bury and his cabinet too much credit to
say that the sudden spiinging of the bud
get. with its enormous deficit, and the
quickly planned visit of the queen to
London almost before the people had
time To realize how much the war was
costing them were part and parcel of Il
understanding of politics which
under the cloak of academic lethargy is
l1ecnly alive to every chance of the mo-
mcnt. But whatever were the motives
the governments actions--and
the queen never moves without consulting
Lord Siilsbufy-they resulted most III
vorahly. No suspicion Of political pre-
meditation has married the hcartincss Of
the queens welcome. though the Irish
have not proved quite 50 ingenious III
commenting; on her proposed visit to
their shores
Britain Pleased With Herself.
Still, on the whole, the recent actions
of the queen, her decision to remain home
instead Of going to Italy. her projected
trip to the Emerald Isle and her generous
recognition of the gallantry of the Irish
troops, combined with the victorious
progress Of Lord Roberts, have once
more put the United Kingdom on excel
lent terms with itself.
This weeks cartoon in Punch by Sir
John Tenniel aptly illustrates the feeling.
1t Is an ill drawn lion with an uplifted
paw, like lump of putty, coming out of
cave, with fierce teeth barred and eyes
glowering in the direction of an animal
which, resembling nothing more than the
well known human donkey of the Ameri-
can stage, is labeled continental Press"
and is sinking off with IL slonchy gait be-
fNrx lat nv q fbf q. pnt
no amount of poor drawing can kill the
strength of the caption to this curious
picture, which reads, WHO said dcad!'
And that voices the spirit of the nation
today better than could columns Of ana
lytical review.
With the prospect OF more serious
oyertures for peace than those made last
week by the Beers it is likely that the
feeling illustrated by Punch will increase
and that the normal condition of self con
| tidence and might will shortly be thor
oilghly re-cstablished i'll Great Britain in
spite of the terrible shaking up that oc-
CURED before Lord Roberts took the
! helm In the opinion of those best in-
| formed as to government opinions the
| Beers are likely to make Il series Of prop
| ositionS for peace. none Of which will be
| feasible for British consideration until
the British troops practically overrun the
| Transvaal territory and only one card re-
| mains in the Transvaals hand
| Thus. while the recent and future neg0
| tiations are and will be welcomed as most
satisfactory signs of British military
| progress, they are not considered to indi
| cate that the end of the war is in sight
As ain instance Of this. Lord Salisbury
reception of two long cablegrams from
| President Kruger ON the subject of tho
| terms did not delay for an instant tho
| preparations for sending ont large Brit
ish re-enforcements and supplies either
| from England or from far off Australia
| However, the prophet of pcssimsm and
change is not stilled entirely. The weel;
has produced several articles in widely
read mediums in regard to the obligatory
retirement of Lord Salisbury from the
scene of active politics, and in the face of
these oftrepeated rumors your represent
atiye has made inquiries and received this
statement from one who perhaps is closer
to the premier than any one else in Eng
land:
Lord SaIisbury's Health Good.
.,rhcse rlmors of Lord SaliSbury's poor
health, the breaking down of his intellect
under personal bereavement and his iii
ability to concentrate his energies arc
pure inventions. He is i'll perfect health,
never worked harder and enters into ev-
cry situation with Il keen appreciation OF
the slightest detail. ! have never seen a
divorce Of personality from official ca
pacity so strikingly illustrated as it has
been by Lord Salisbury during the last
| few months. ! suppose that in due time
n one will have to succeed him, but he
~ ~ a.
from the zest with which he goes about
his work one would scarcely think he con
sidered ii. Personally. would be glad ii
Lord Salisbury exhibited more fcrvor
and vim III his speeches i'll the house Of
lords but I am happy TO know that what
the world believes to be the lcthargy ana
perhaps even the stolid stupidity of our
premier is entirely due TO his belief that
the country is sufficiently excited and
stirred up without his adding directly or
indirectly any fuel to the fire. With this
idea dominating his actions and speeches
he is perfectly unmoved by the most
caustic satire of the organs of his own
party. With Il mature judgment of the
| English people and affairs of state, he be-
ieves the national crisis merits the sacri-
iice of any appeal of party or popular
] sentiment. Any one knowing the man
thoroughly would be slow to criticise such
IL determination.
The introduction of the budget has
produced cuttous state of affairs, the
chancellor of the exchequer, Sir Michael
| HicksBeach becoming the butt of his
| own party press and the subject of the
oppOsition's encomiums. This is greatly
due 10 the fact that he followed the lines
of Mr.. Gladstone's eXchequer policy, re.
lying upon raising existing taxes rather
than the introduction of new duties with
which to meet the war deficit The abuse
showered on him by The Times is partic.
ularly strong. The "Thunderer'' had
strenuously advocated a duty on sugar
and several other innovations. but the
chancellor of the exchequer accepted none
of them and paid the penalty. In spite
OF this and thanks to the queen and Lord
Roberts. the budget has been swallowed
gracefully, apd Lord Salsbury's govern