The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-10
PROPHECY DE
 MIR. BALFOUR Peace is the Vision Of the Premier. BANQUET OF LORD MAT0R Ambassador Rcid One of the
 Guests Of Honor. Replies to Toast to Foreign Minssesssk And Says Unitea ststes And
 England wnl Not Fan
 Out.
BANQUET OF LORD MAY0R|

London, Nov. e.--"A century axo Pitt. standing where now stand, pro- phesied war. Now I today prophecy peace. This was the text on which Premier Balfour based his speech con- cerning the relations of Great Britain with foreign countries at the Lord Mayors banquet in the Guild Hall f0- night, an occasion when custom makes 1t almost imperative for either tne premier or the foreign secretary to discuss the foreign and domestic poll cies of the government.
 Mir. Balfour and Whitelaw Reid. the American Ambassador, who replied to the toast of their excellenctes. the foreign ministers" proposed by the pleasant words for the credit of their respective countries as leaders anong the advocates of the arbitration of quarreis throughout the civilized world. In fact. the whole tenor Of the speeches was optimistic so far the re- iations between all the great pow CTS was concerned. The premier's reference to Russia was particularly happy. He said:
 Refcrence to Rusuin.
 Our friends in Russia are absorbing public interest by the great movement they are making in the direction. as we believe, of self government. The task of the Emperor and hfs advisers is indeed not light one, and those who for centuries have practiced par 1 liamentary government know best the ditficulties which confront them. There | is not a citizen in Great Britain who | does not wish them every success. and I express the earnest wish that the movement may not in the future be stained by the unnecessary effuston Of blood. We hope that the movement Twill bring happiness to countless mil- liions unsuliied by a repetition of the 4W 1 the initial progress so lamentabie.T The banquet was conducted with au the quaint ceremonial peculiar to the occasion The guests of Lord Mayor Morgan included the retiring Lord Maxr. Sir John Pound and Pernier Secretary Lansdowne. the Archbishop of Canterbury. Arnold Forster, Sec retary of War; William St. John Brod. erick. Secretary for India, Lord Caw-. dor, Baron Ashbourne. Lord Chancellor of Ireland: Ambassador Reid. the Jap- anese, the Chinese. Greek. Belgian. Mexican and siamese Ministers. and about 1000 other prominent persons.
 Reception at Guild Hall.
 Prior to the banquet the guests wera received by the Lord Mayor and the Lord Mayoress in the great reception room of the Guild Hall.
 Tn proposing the toast of The Ini- perial Forces" Sheriff Smallman pleas. antIy referred to the reception in the United States of the British squadron under command of Prince Louis of Battenberg.
 portion of his speech to the question of the unemployed. expressing hts sympathy and his desire to in every way possible help those out of work and appealing to private purses Tor as- sistance during the stress
 kt. nf government. the Premier spoke first Of Russia and then said that his nlajestys government had done everything pos sibie for many years to ward or the dangers of war and had done It's pest to develope a scheme of arbitration. He alluded to the difficulties attending boundary questions and said he hoped that these all might be settled by ar- bitration.
 II am sanguine on this subject" said the Premier 'T think in the future we shall not see war unless indeeo. we can conceive of nation or a ruler ar ising who will be unable to carry out d scheme of national aggrandixement except through tramplfng on the rights of his neighbors.
 No Prospect of war.
 However, I see no prospect or sucA a calamity in Europe.
 Ambassador Reid. referring to the PremIeTB eXpI6bSAOub IOh~~AAsA8 S-t@ nrobabIlities of peace, said 1t was tho business of dipiomatists to make peace and not war, and for his part he pre- rerred the court of arbitration to the arbitration of the sword. The Ambas- sador would neither eoncede nor dis pute Mir. Balfour's claim that Great Britian had taken precedence in the matter of arbitration. but he would say that Great Britian and the United States had set an example and had settled some of the most burning ques- tions through arbitration and that to- day the two countries were more cor dial in their relations than they had been at any time in the last hundred years. x
 If you hear of the possibility of dlf- ficulties over fisheries or something else, don't believe it." said the Ambas- sador, because such a report will be the result of absolute misinformation. There is no question today between the United States and Great Britian that Secretary Root and Secretary Lans- downe cannot speedily adjust"