GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 8, 10 January 1912, Page 10

GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY

? OPPOSITION LEADER'S ATTITUDE. After Sir Edward Grey's great speech in th& House of Commone on 27th November on the relations- between England and Germany, Mr. Bonar Law caid: Aj* leader of our party I shall, of course, always consult Lord Lansdowne, as I have consulted him ""to-day, before making any statement on foreign affairs. We have never tried to gain party advantage froip a discussion 'of foreign politics. (" Hear, hear.") That will always be otlr policy. (" Hear, hear.") If it should happen that the Government should- change, I hope the gentlemen opposite will remember what our attitude ' has been. There is nothing in Sir E. Grey's statement which I wish to criticise. I hear it constantly said that war some day_ or other between as ffiid Germany is inevitable. I never believe in thes*e inevitable wars. ("Heai 1, hear.") If war should ever come, which Heaven forbid, it will not be due to. natural laws—it will be duo to the lack of human, wisdom. (" Hear,' liear."} The only absolute security for peace is that each country should realise the strength of the other. (" Hear, hear.") , Sir E. Grey ha« convinced me, and, I believe, the House, that every step taken during, last summer was taken with the sole regard to British interests. The gap left by the German statements has been satisfactorily rilled up by Sir E. Grey. No one would suppose that Mr. Lloyd Gaorge would have made his 1 speech without the full knowledge of the Foreign Minister, but on the face of it I am bound to say that his intervention seemed undesirable. It eeems to me that the more natural way would have been for the Foreign Minister to have chosen an opportunity, which could easily have been found in the House of Commons, to make the necessary statement either through the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary himself. (Cheers.) But lam not going tp condemn the method by which they carried it oat successfully. At the end of July Mr. Balfour did a great jpublic' service by making it_ quite plain, as Leader' of the Opposition, that in this matter the Government hatl behind it the support of the Opposition. (Opposition cheers.) There is a proverb that, it takes all kinds of people to make the world, and lam inclined say it take 6 more kinds of people to make the party opposite. (Opposition laughter.][ There ie-a suspicion that there is a section ojt the party, and perhaps a section of tho Cabinet, which not only love 1? *>eace, as I certainly do, but loves peace so much that they could not in any circumstances believe that a war could be just or necessary. If it is the object of the Government to convince foreign countries—and it is as important to convince ns at home—that that is- not the case, I can imagine no better method than by selecting the Chancellor of the Exchequer as spokesman. I 6ay without hesitation that we do not desire any expansion of territory. Our responsibilities are great enough. Wei have no wish to increase them. Our desire is not to enlarge but to build tip our Empire. (Cheers.)