Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-29
DISLIKE THE ALLIANCE
English Are Fearful Of Vene-
zuela Imbroglio.
WANT OUR FRIENDSHIP
THEY ALSO DIsTRUsT THE KAIS-
Frs IMPETUosITY.
Boer War Was an Experience They Do
Not Want Repeated-London
News and Gossip.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. :
LONDON, December IT, 1902.
Criticism of the governments conduct
with regard to Venezueia-nobody Is kind
enough to call it the policy-is very harsh,
even In conservative circles and newspa-
pers. Nearly everybody condemns, II not
the action generally, certainly the alliance
with hot-headed Germany, who is bound to
get England the venerable and efficient
collector Of debts. into trouble, because Of
the kaiser's newness to the game.
The general public, think, Is even more
alert than parliamentarians are, and Lord
Lansdowne's prestige as foreign minister
has already suffered considerably. AS one
who knows a good deal Of the inside track
Of politics said to me this morning, The
whole thing is too asinine for words"
Everybody is apprehensive of a long,
costly and humiliating series of adventures
in the wildcat" commonwealth, and it Is
very likely that before long the foreign
secretary's speech will become historically
as unenviable as that of Mr.. Bafour
wherein he excused Lord Salisbury's gov
eminent for the disasters Of December,
1899, on the ground that the man in the
street" knew as much about the war prepa-
rations of the Beers as the man in the
cabinet
There was about Lord Lansdowne's flip
pant contempt Of Venezuela a disagreeable
reminder, of unmOunted men preferred"
To waste money and wantonly risk precious
lives for the collection Of debts which Lord
Lansdowne. 1t seems, Is either too careless
or too ignorant to specify, and which the
prime minister until now has taken no
pains to explain. Is bad enough; but the
worst of the present exhibition Is the fear,
almost amounting to certainty, that the
government has allowed itself to become
the cats paw Of Germany. The surprise
which. it is stated, you feel in America at
into its ignominious position is greater than
that OF men here who know what the for
eign office is capable Of.
Possibilities of the Case.
1t is difficult to find anybody outside the
company Of those who have invested money
In Venezuela with their eyes open who de-
clares the Venezuelan game is worth the
candle. Suppose President Castro is as OBJ
stinate as President Kruger was, and land
expeditions become necessary. What then?
Lord Lansdowne has rejoiced at the Coop
Grafton of Germany and England The ul-
tlmatum was arranged when the kaiser
was at Sandringham. They were the latest
revelations of the mailed fist"
The kaiser has pulled the wires and the
Lansdowne figure has worked, and the
kaiser will not get his own way if the Brit
fsh troops In Venezuela do not dance to
German piping.
Admitting the justice Of the British and
can republic. it is represented that a pa
cific blockade, with a seizure of customs,
etc, would have suff1ced to meet the stu
alton. There is practical consensus of
opinion that Americas good offices arbi-
traitor should be accepted. for anything in
the shape of land campaign against Pres
ident Castro would be-to put 1t mildly-ex-
tremely undesirable. 1t would not only
cost this country many millions of money
and possibly hundreds or even thousands of
valuable lives, but it would also arouse
popular feeling in America to a dangerous
pitch.
The fear of offending the United States
and causing a rupture of friendly relations
anfmates nearly every editorial on the sub
ject, and 1t is safe to say that most Eng
lishmen would prefer to see the Venezuelan
claims sunk in the sea and Germany aban-
doned than to have anything untoward
arise between this country and the United
States. Not paper In London, and hardly
one In the provinces, but insists this
point and demands that the government be
very sure Of it's ground here.
Poor Attendance at London Churches.
In view of the recent census taken by the
Daily News showing the poor attendance
In the London churches, 1t is worth while
pointing out how thousands spend Sunday
in the metropolis The Sunday in London
is a long way from the point Of comparison
with the continental Sunday but it is much
more secular than in the provinces. In the
first place, there is good deal Of market
ing, phase of the day which Is erroneous
Iy believed by many to be restricted to the
aliens and to Pettcoat lane. To mention
only the Sunday markets which have seen
myself at various times, there are those at
Leather lane, which is the Italian quarter;
Somers Town, which lies between the st.
Pancras and Euston stations; Hoxton,
Lambeth walk and Kentish town, and two
or three lesser markets.
In some Of these the alien element is al
most entirely absent, and the reason I have
heard given for the existence Of the mar
kets Is that many workmen do not receive
~ LOTT Sat-