Arizona daily citizen., 1901-07-18
ENGLAND DOES NOT TREAT ALL ALIKE.

The New York Evening Post thinks the $500
100000 recently borrowed by the British Government
for the expenses the Boer Chinese Ashanti and So
mali wars "have scarcely tested the borrowing power
OF the United Kingdom and cites the fact that sthe
British public debt increased $3OOOOOO,OO0 during
the war with France at the opening of the Nineteenth
Century, and neither the national credit nor the ma
tional resources exhausted in 1875. To the
question what would Great Britain do in the case
OF two or three bill ion war with Russia?" the Post
replies by asking What would Russia dor" The
utility OF the in South Africa will be temonstra-
ted according to our contemporary the bill which
the Exchequer is now footing succeeds in frighten-
ing few of the Continental powers" In this the
Post agrees with Lord Salisbury, who regards the
war in South Africa not as petty fight about moth
ing in particular, but as Engand's answer to the
question whether she would fight to keep her en-
pre- 1t is pity that the two republics should be
sacrificed in answering the question.
There has no doubt been an impression in many
quarters that the British Empire is house of cards,
built up during period when there was no oversea
composition with England in trade or colonization
and bound to tumble to pieces at the first rude blow
There was no obvious tie binding Canada, for exam
pie, or Australia to the United Kingdom and India
was defended by wholly inadequate force Ireland
was confessedly disloya. A large party in England
itself was in favor of home rule and separation of
every part of the Empire that wanted self-govern-
ment Separate Parliaments for Scotland and Wales.
as well as Ireland, were loudly demanded "a fake
Empire" was the description generally applied to
the loose aggregation ''ruled" by Queen Victoria
and the description was justified apparently by the
yielding OF the British Government to pressure
whenever it was firmly applied by any other great
power
This was seen when Russia pressed upon Afghan.
istan at PenJdeh and more recently at Taenwan, in
Manchuria; when Germany gobbed up large British
interests in East, West and Southwest Africa and
when France absorbed Tunis, Madagascar. part of
Siam and large tract on the upper Niger. French
pressure and British yielding were so continuous
that France was ultimately tempted into the blund
or of Fashoda from which it was learned at Paris
that pressure might go too far. The British Govern
ment was accordingly to blame for the growth of the
idea that in South Africa elsewhere, the British
would retire if bold front were made, rather than
fight Ii Mr.. Kruger made miscalculation it was
justified by the surrender after Maiuba. and the
Boer people may justly complain that the British
lion rouses himself only at this late day for the
preservation OF little of Africa after having
meekly yielded larger areas to Germany and France
Ii the territorial dominions of the King are mper
lied, this is not the first time, as Lord Salisbury
would have us believe, bat the twentieth time in re-
cent years. different rule, in short, is applied to
Mr. Kruger from that which was applied to Others
No doubt the population and resources of Kruger's
country had much to do with it,