LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL ON THE RUSSIAN QUESTION.

Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 10, 11 July 1885, Page 1 (Supplement)

LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL ON THE RUSSIAN QUESTION.

But there 'were other thoughts which were raised in their minds by this vast deficit of £14,000,000. "Where had that deficiency gone to, and' what had they got for it? They were now told that the chances o± war 'had disappeared because the idea ' of arbitration had been discovered.' ' 'But they were to arbitrate, not upon"' .the j question whether General^Komaroff had done wrong or not when he attached our^allies the Afghans, and sent two of our officers flying before him, bub only upon the question whether* the Russian ' Government rightly or wrongly understood a certain agreement. But that was not Jthe question. (Cheers.) Those'who devised this idea of arbitration seemed to imagine that if it were not for thiß agreement the Russian's had a right to attack our allies and hunt our officers like, hares. it behotf ed the pepple of this country to.consider wa"B not much the precise question whether we ought to ■ have gone to " war for, . this insult or not,' and he quite agreed that in so great an issue it would be hard to try it on so small a pomt — (hear, hear) — and, of course, they were 'all, very glad that' the horrors of war were not ,to come upon us; but ought the Government ever to have, put us in that position in which the question of peace or war was dependent upon the question of whether a Eussian general did or did not attack a camp of our allies? The effect of what- had occurred on the Asiatic mind would be that Russia was the Power that promised and always advanced, and England was the power that apologised and always retreated. He blamed the Government for raising the issue on such a question. Herat was a distant inaccessible Oasis, in which we could not'have fought if we had ' had the wish. Then it might be said that We were bound td consult the interests of our ally the Ameer, but now we were told that the Ameer did not want 'Penjdeh. That involved the almost inevitable conclusion that the Government prepared to go to war and never took the trouble to ascertain from the Ameer what he considered his boundary and what he did not. (Cheers.) That was the way in which the Government had conducted the business of the country. They went into difficulties with a light heart, and then escaped with a light foot. (Cheers and laughter.) If we wished to defend the frontier of India, we must do it, as Lord Beaconsfield proposed, by relying upon our own strength, If that vital railway which Lord Beaconsfield projected to Candahar had been made, we should now have a force in Afghanistan which would have made General Komaroff pause. It was only too late that the Governmeni had resumed his policy, which foi party purposes they set aside. Tht country had suffered in the estimation of the world because of the incurable infirmity of purpose that hac marked every step of the policy oj the Government. "Woman's rights!" exclaimed i Philadelphia! man, when the subject was broached. " What more righti do they want ] My wife is eternally bossing me, our daughters boss vi both, and the servant-girl bosses th< whole family. It's time the men wen allowed some rights !" " Yes," said a henpecked^ husband " there is truly no place like home and that's why I keep away from i so much."