The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-26
From the Washington Herald.

JAMES BRYCE, chief secretary Tor
al ireland. at London. who r is to
~ come to this country as British
asbassador. 10 succeed Sir Mortimer Dur
and. is a great exception to the general
rule of representatives of foreign govern
ments accredited to the United STATES
inasmuch as he has made thorough ana
most particular investigation OF all ques-
tons pertaining 10 the American pouy
nolitic. as well as American character
istics And. unless Mr.. Bryce has changed
his oninion on these subjects since ne
frst nenned them in 1888, he entertalns
west decided views on questions which
are this day before the American peo-
pie. a.,
In discussing the negro question IN the
south. Mr.. Bryce has written;
"Rut for one difficulty, the south might
well be thought to be the most promising
part of the union; that part whose au-
vance Is likely to be swiftest, and whose
nrosperity will be not the least secure.
The difficulty is a serious one. 1t lies IN
the presence of 100000 of negroes
After summing up the existing condi-
tons, Mr.. Bryce says:
~. The negro will stay in North Amer
lea.
80. He will stay locally intermixed with
the white population.
"s. He will stay socially distinct, as
an alien element unabsorbed and unab-
sorbable'
As to the question of an American navy
Mr.. Bryce's views are of the deepest
interest at this time. He said
1.-THE cry which is sometimes raised Tor
a large increase in the United States
fleet seems to a European observer I'M
wise. for the power of the United States
tn nrotect her citizens abroad Is not to
be measured by the number of vessels
or guns she possesses, but by the fact
that there is no power in the world which
will not lose far more than 1t can pos
sibly gain by quarrelng with nation
which could, in case of war, SO vast are
its resources, not only create an armored
fleet, but speedily equip swift vessels
which would destroy the commerce of its
antagonist The possession of powerful
ornaments is apt to inspire wish to
use them
ITpon the question of Canada's future,
Mr.. Bryce says plainly that England Will
consider Canada perfectly free to choose
her own destiny and he holds that the
United states will never, under any cir
cumstanees, be disposed to bring pressure
to bear for Canadian annexation
Mr.. Bryce exonerates the United States
absolutely from any disposition to make
territorial conquests in the European i'm
perial spirit, although he evidently con-
siders that manifest destiny will bring
about a crumbling of Mexico, with cor
responding gradual accessions to the
United States on the south, comparable
with our acquisition of Texas. He looks
forward to the extension of the United
States as far south as the isthmus of
Panama.
AS regards the relations of this coun-
try with South Africa. Mr.. Bryce holds
that it Is certain that the future rela-
tions of the United States with the west
ern coast of South America will be Tar
more intimate than those of any Euro
pean states, and that the sphere OF
political and commercial influence that
opens ~up before the United States in
South America is vast one.
Mr.. Bryce discusses the honesty OF
American elections with much frank
ness. Regarding corruption and bribery,
instead of condemning us sweepngly, as
SO many foreigners have done, Mr.. Bryce
expresses the following view
bribery is a sporadic disease, but
often intense when it occurs. Most parts
of the union are pure-as pure as Scot
land. where from 1868 to 1892 there was
only one election petition for alleged
bribery. Other parts are not better than
Tho small boroughs of southern England
were before the corrupt practices act of
1883. No place, however, not even the
noorest ward In New York City, sinks
below the level of such constituencies as
Yarmouth. or Sandwich, used to be in
England
ITpon the question of the lavish use of
money in election expenditures, Mr..
Bryce is not disposed to regard the Uni
ted States worse than England was up
to about 1854. Since then, he thinks, the
evil in the United States has grown rap
idly.
AS to the south, Mr.. Bryce speaks, in
a hopeful vein. He says:
everywhere there is progress; in some
regions such progress that one may fair
liz call the south new country. The
population is, indeed, unchanged, for few