New-York tribune., 1900-01-31
PARLIAMENT OPENED.



| believed the term could be Justly applied to the
relations with European governments and the
United States, and deprecated undue attention
! to the attacks of the foreign press His Lord
ship congratulated Lord Salisbury on the con-
ciusion of the agreement with Germany, but
strongly disapproved of the tone Of Mr.. Cham
! berlain's speeches. In that connection, how
ever, he paid warm tribute to the conduct of
the soldiers in the field and to the loyalty of
the British colonies.
The Earl added that although the moment
was one Of the deepest gravity. he would entire
! ly abstain from criticisng the conduct of the
! generals. 1t the duty of the Government to
| select men to conduct these operations, and 1t
was their duty to support the Government. 1t
was therefore unwise to criticise the generals
! in these operations. He did not mean to imply
that the generals were not doing their utmost
! to fulfil their arduous duties, but the Govern
ment would be wise If 1t made every effort to
prepare thoroughly for what might occur in the
! future. Continuing. Lord Kimberley said:
! We might meet a period of disaster, and, al
| though our relations with the other Powers are
friendly, it would be we'll to consider the poss-
| bities of the future and it would be we'll If the
/ Government prepared for all eventualities and
all dangers, and be ready with the means to sur
mount them. The Government does not seem to
| have been aware of the scale of preparations of
the South African Republic.
AN ACCUSATION OF APATHY.
Lord Kimberley also urged that the Govern
ment ought to have been aware of the importa-
ton of arms into the Transvaal and ought to
have informed the Transvaal that unless it de-
sisted it must result in Great Britain sending
large force to South Africa He could not be-
lieve the Government was so ignorant of the
preparations of the Transvaal, and they could
not dvest themselves of the responsibility.
Baron Balfour of Burlegh said the jameson
raid had closed the mouth of the Government
and prevented them from protesting against the
arming of the Transvaal. He added that the
Government must have known that armaments
were accumulating to extent unjustified by
fears of another raid and 1t was the duty of the
Government to communicate the subject with
the Boer Government, but as the first step they
ought severely to punish the raiders. The coun-
try had not reached pass that If the Govern
ment appealed to it it would not have supported
the Government in any preparations thought
necessary. He would do nothing to prevent the
Government from carrying the war to a success
full conclusion.
THE PREMIER's REPLY.
Lord Salisbury, in reply to the Earl Of Kim
berley asserted that there nothing in the
stipulations Of the conventions to limit and
hinder the importation OF arms and ammuni-
ton into the Transvaal through Lourenco Mar
ques. He added:
Why were to know about the importation
of arms? 1 believe guns were introduced into
the Transvaal in boilers. and munitions of war
IN piano cases. We had a small Secret Service
fund. II you want much information you must
give much money Consider the enormous
amounts spent by other Governments, especially
| the Transvaal, which have heard on high dplo-
rfaatic authority spent $500 900 in single year,
and the small sums spent by England. making
1t impossible for US to have the omniscience at
tributed by Lord Kimberley. am glad
he has not pressed an immediate inquiry into
the action Of the military authorities at a time
when our generals in the field and many Of
those who could give the most valuable informa-
ton are unable to appear. We should defer
inquiry to more convenient season
The Premier afterward admitted the dehcien-
cies of the existing system. remarking that the
Treasury had acquired power which was not
to the public benefit He had not thought of
| looking into past history examining the
amount of blame to be attached to this that
Minister, remarking:
1t is quite the right way Of dealing with the
present crisis. We must join together and ex-
ercise all ouI powers in extricating ourselves
from a situation full Of humiliation and not free
from danger. I will not say the danger may not
have easily been exaggerated Many a country
has commenced war with difficulties Of the
kind experience. We have only to look at
what the Northern States of America went
through at the beginning of the Civil War to
how easy it would be to draw a mistaken infer
ence from the reverses we have met at the out
set We have every ground to think that II we
set ourselves heartily TO work and exert all the
undoubted instruments of the power possess
shall bring the war to a satisfactory
clusion. we have work which appeals to US
as subjects of the Queen and England and 1t
must throw in the shade all thoughts OF party
expediency.
Lord Salisbury then said he regretted that
Lord Edmund Fitzmaurice. in the House OF
Commons, about to bring this great issue
into party controversy, adding that the only
place where his action would meet with sym
pathy in Pretoria. He continued:
Our effort must be to retrieve ourselves from
the present situation which cannot be allowed to
last This empire is a valuable and splendid,
but responsible, possession. We must concen-
trate our efforts If we do not tame all the
the danger of cOnvulsions which will tarnsh the
empires lustre ard perhaps It's in
tegrity.
LORD ROSEBERY'S VIEWS
Lord Rosebery, who followed Lord Salisbury,
spoke with great force and earnestness. He
asked why the Premier made 1t so difficult for
the man in the street to support his policy. The
past conduct of the Government would come up
for investigation some day, he hoped, adding:
We have the right to know if. before the crisis,
the Intelligence Department supplied the Gov
ernment with sufficient information. If not dis
miss the Department. If the Government pos
sessed the information, its responsibility is
heavy. l hope that when the time for the in
VestigatiOn arrives those who have
Queen will be covered with such glory that the
eyes of the investigators will be dazzled.
was appalled, at the nature and style of Lord
Salsbury's speech We have now one hundred
and twenty thousand men in South Africa vet
with difficulty holding our own. The at
titude of foreign nations is described as friendly
but that does not strike as being so amicable
the word would imply. 1 deem it necessary
to know what the Government is going to do.
Lord Salisbury said the cause of our disasters
was the smallness of the Secret Service Fund
and the British Constitution. But, what Is the
Governments duty? Some form of compulsory