Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-02-03
ANXIOUS FOR PEACE
Parliament, Edward
Deplores Eastern Crisis.
CHAMBERLAIN DEFENDED BY HIS SON
unique situation In House of Com"
mons when Austen Chamberlain
spoke For Premier, Bnlfour on
government Fiscal Policy.
Government Fiscal r.

LONDON, Feb. 3. = King Edward
has opened parliament and in his
speech from the throne pleaded for a
peaceful settlement of the controversy
between Russia and Japan in the far
east. His comment was brief, but his
words created a profound impression.
He said:
II have watched with concern the
| course of the negotiations between the
governments Of Japan and Russia In
| regard to their respective interests In
China and Korea, and a disturbance
of the peace in those regions could not
but have deplorable consequences.
Any assistance which my government
can ~usefully render toward the promo
ton of a pacific solution will be glad
ly afforded" -il3.e
Touching on the Alaska decision, the.
king in his speech says that on some
points the verdict was favorable to
the British claims, and on others 1t
had been adverse. Much as this last
circumstance was to be deplored, it
must nevertheless be a matter for coll
graduation that the misunderstand-
ings in which ancient boundary trea-
ties made in ignorance of geographical
facts are so fertile have in this case
been finally removed from the field of
controversy.
"My right honorable friend, the
| member from West Birmingham" as
| Austen Chamberlain described his fa-
Their, was the central figure in the
| drama that marked the opening of the
house.
No playwright could have devised q
more curious situation. For the first
time in years Joseph Chamberlain took
his seat as a private member of the.
house of and was separated
from his former colleagues in the cab
met by the gangway. From this seat
he saw his son act as leader of the
house of commons, a position which
| Joseph Chamberlain, with all his years
Of parliamentary experience, never at
tanned.
Premier Balfour was laid up with in
fuenZa and therefore unable to be
present. When Austen Chamberlain
rose up to reply in behalf of the
party of which his own father is sup
posed to be the most powerful menl-
Der, the house was spellbound. Until
that moment Mr.. Ackers-D Douglas, sec
rotary of state for home affairs, was
generally expected to take Premier
Balfour's place, and interest in the
proceedings was heightened by the
fact that Sir Henry CAMPBELL Banner
man, the Liberal leader, had just con-
Guided a merciless satire on Austen
Chamberlain's father. The. situation
was without parallel in the recollec-
ton of the Oldest politician, and all
eyes were fixed alternately upon the
father and the son.
Joseph Chamberlain, who had sat
unmoved under the ridicule Of the Lib
eral leader, turned neryously toward
his son, who now takes precedence
of him. With his monocle in his
eye, an orchid in his buttonhole and
his hands clasped across his knees.
the most prominent figure in the Brit
ish empire sat and listened to his own
defense from the lips Of his son.
Austen Chamberlain spoke haltingly
and under evident strain, yet when he
referred to his father it was always as
"the member from West Birmingham"
There was a tinge of impassioned feel
ing in his words which brought con-
stantly to his hearers a realization of
the relation between the two men.
Now and again jeers greeted the
youngest member of the cabinet,
whereupon, with unmistakable anger,
his father turned his glance in the di-
~rection of the offender, and occasional
ly Joseph Chamberlain cheered his son
on with an emphatic Hear! Heart"
AS Austen Chamberlain neared the
conclusion of his defense Of the atti-
tude of Premier Balfour and his ia
Their toward the fiscal question the in
terruptions grew mor frequent, and
the chancellor of the e%xchequer clutch
ed the brass bound treasury box on
which Gladstone was so fond Of lean
ing and addressed his remarks almost
solely in the direction of his father.
Defiantly Austen Chamberlain accus.
cd Sir Henry Campbell5Bannerman of
attacking the premier in his absence,
| ana WIFI IL 7tUuCn VI ptiOC = culO
1.-THE member from West Birmingham
is here. He can speak for and look
after himself"
In the house of lords in regard to the
United States Lord Lafsdowne said
the government had e~ndeavored- to
translate into practice what it affirmed
rather as a matter of principle in the
French and Italian treaties.
Commenting on the Alaska decision
Lord Lansdowne said that although
the tribunal which disposed of the
Alaska difficulty was not, strictly
speaking, arbitral, it's efforts illustrat'
ed the possibility of settling by other
than diplomatic means long standing,
dangerous International differences.
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