The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1916-01-05

East Africa would be fruitful, and
the French government offered to
place at the disposal Of the British
their then available force in NADIA
gascar, which was a comparatively
large one and for which adequate
transports were promised by the
French.
'The offer was declined on the
ground that Britain was not ready to
undertake such an expedition at that
time. There is, of course, a sugges-
ton that some such narrow view as
caused Russia to object to a Greek
advance on Constantinople influenced
the British authorities and decided
them against French cooperation IN
German East Africa. Equally, Of
course, the fact may have been that
Britain really was not ready.
"This letter is running to an in
ordinate length; but I must add
something more to Lake it complete.
Besides the causes of dissatisfaction
mentioned, there is a strong feeling
that several members Of the coalition
cabinet are either inadequate or mis-
placed in their present posts. Harold
Cox sums up this phase as follows:
"'The men who constitute this cab
met are many of them fairly well
known to their fellow citizens. A
few Of them are men Of first class
ability. But the ability Of most Of
them Is certainly little above the gen
eral average. 1t may be said without
the slightest hesitation that there is
not one Of the politicians in the pres
ent cabinet Who-could not be replaced
ten times over by men of equal ability
in other spheres of life. They are
where they are merely from the accl-
dent that they chose to go into the
profession of politics as one OF the
easiest and most rapid means OF
securing notoriety and promotion.'
"Now, the present dissatisfaction
must he differentiated from the cam
paign which Lord Northcllffe waSed
against the cabinet. 1t is different
in many ways, principal among them,
perhaps, being that it is taking con-
structive rather than a purely de-
structive form, and that it is finding
an altogether dissimilar kind of ex-
preston. 1t is not being carried on
in the public market place. so to
speak, nor by shouting and beating
of drums.
Lord NorthcEffe's papers, OF
course, sowed the seed broadcast, but
the crop has sprung up in many quar-
ters where The Daily Mail is ana
tnema. You may have read The Daily
Telegraph's editorial of last Satur-
day-it was cabled over to America.
The D. T., one may be sure, would
not have printed such an article had
it not felt that the discomfort it ex-
pressed was both deep and wide
spread, not confined to a particular
sect or party, but permeatlng the
whole nation.
How the coalition government
will fare, of course, depends largely
on what will happen on the war
fronts. I am making no predictions.
You remember what Mr.. AsQuith said
about remaining at his post until he
was convinced somebody could fill 1t
better.
"Those weren't his exact words,
but they represent the underlying
meaning. This, however, seems GER
tain.
England is getting tired of dis
covering that every move the govern
ment makes seems to have been fore
seen by the Germans, and is not dis
posed to forgive much more blunder-
ing, if laundering can be proved.
Particularly it is not going to stand
any political party nonsense. II the
politicians can't put politics on one
side and devote themselves to win.
ming the war, the English nation will
demand that men who arc not poll
ticians should be given an oppor-
tunity. am told by Frenchmen that
the same feeling obtains in France.
One of them predicted: We shall
have a national assembly Ga joint
meeting of Senate and Chamber Of
and out of that will be
born a committee Of public safety if
the country thinks it useful"
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