The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-07-21
Correspondence Captured by Gen.
eral Broadwood Indicates Early
Collapse Of Resistance.
RosEBERY's yNWIsE LETTER.
Dwells With Emphasis Upon Dis.
agreements, but Suggests No
Remedy-His Friends Left
in the Lurch.
BY HERBERT PAUL.

SPECIAL BY CABLE
London. July 2o.-(Copyrisht 1901, by the
New York Herald Company.NI have to
write before the AsQuith dinner. which
may have an important bearing on the
position OF the Liberal party, and, there
fore. upon the future Of politics in Eng
land.
The events Of the week SO far have been
the publication Of the Boer correspondence
captured by General Broadwood and Lord
Rosebery's letter to the City Liberal Club.
The appeal Of General Botha and his coll
leagues, disclosing as 1t does the severe
straits Of the Boer commandos in the
Transvaal two months ago, brings the end
OF the war for the first time within q
measurable distance.
It Is true that Mr.. Steyn's urgent re-
monstrances appear for the time to have
prevailed, but Mr.. Steyn's coadjutors have
since been taken prisoners, and he him.
self narrowly escaped with his life.
Small Hopes for Doers.
The Beers can hardly now hope to keep
up the struggle much longer. and the Gov
eminent will probably be strengthened in
their determination to insist on uncondi-
tional surrender.
This makes the question Of tho settle
ment in South Africa even more urgent
than 1t was before. If the opposition are
to exercise any influence upon that settle
ment they must be united. and must have
a policy.
Lord Rosebery's letter does not, unfor.
tunately, conduce to either end. It dwells
upon the disunion with emphasis. but sug-
gests no remedy. Indeed. 1t rather sug-
gests that there is none.
No Liberal should forget the services
rapdarod hu Lord poaohnry v3an hA
stepped into the breach upon MIR. Glad
stones retirement, in 1884; but since then
the party has looked in vain to him for
counsel or guidance - strange 1nas
Rotary and once Prime Minister should
have nothing better to say at great ma
tional crisis than that the differences
as Sir Henry EMBELLISHMENTS and
Mr.. John Morley. are too wide to be sur
mounted.
Lord Rosebery's Mistake.
He seems to think the Liberals are sharp
ly divided into sheep. whom he calls Im-
perialists, and goats. whom he calls little
Englanders.
That is a complete n.iseonception: It
plies. followed either Sir Wilfred Lawson
or Sir Edward Grey. He might as well
say that every Conservative had TO choose
son Bowles.
Sir Wilfred Lawson Is an honorable. high
minded, diEinterested man, but he has lost
his own seat in Parliament. and he never
had. nor ever claimed to have. q following
at all.
He spoke and voted against Mr.. Glad
stones Egyptian war in 1882, Just as he
spoke and voted in the last House Of Com.
mons against the policy Of Lord Salisbury
and Mr.. Chamberlain.
Sir Edward stands IN very different po-
one Of the most eloquent Of their spokee..
men and representatives. Liberals Of all
shades respect him for his high character
and conspicuous talents. He Is a most en-
gaging personality.
Opponents OF War Are Loyal.
Sir Edward knows, if Lord Rosebery
does not. that most of the opponents OF
this war are as Jealous for the dignity of
it would have been best preserved by the
maintenance Of an honorable peace In South
Africa.
He does not. Of course, agree with them.
ter whether they are right or wrong. The
point is that their motives are the same as
his own: and that Lord Rosebery does
them an insular parochialism or q disregard
Of imperial interests. It is precisely those
interests which he believes have been i'm
periled by the course they conscientiously
on that account resisted.
Friends Left In the Lurch.
Edward Grey's own speech at Peterbor.
ough. delivered on the evening Of the day
when, when Lord Ro esee letter was pub.
his friend and former chief. He points out.
lie man with strong opinions has no right
to remain outside practical politics. He
says, with force as well as truth, that
though lookers-on may see the most Of the
game, they have no influence on the result.
Lord Rosebery has left his friends in the
lurch.
What use is 1t telling them that the
whole Empire has rallied to the war? The
Orange Free State rallied to the Trans
of the Transvaal to be Just. What It
proved was that blood is tfpcker than wa.
ter.
Our colonial fellow-subtects came to the
help Of the mother country because she is
the mother country, and because they are
English at heart.
The whole Empire rejoices at the ap-
preaching conclusion Of the war.
I fail to see why Liberal Imperialists
old name Is enough, in pressing such rea-
sonable terms Of homo rule within the EN-
pire as would give US q durable peace to-
morrow.