TOPICS OF THE DAY

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue 7389, 15 February 1902, Page 3 (Supplement)

TOPICS OF THE DAY

(From Our London Correspondent.)

LONDON, December 20. LORD ROSEBERY'S

RETURN

DOES HE MEAN TO LEAD AGAIN?

I confess I cannot quite make up my mind as to what Lord Rosebery meant by his speech to the Chesterfield Liberals last Monday evening, but the generally accepted view seems to be that he means to abandon his lonely furrow and, with the support of Mr Asquith, Mr Haldane, Sir Edward Grey and other prominent members of what was once the Liberal Party, to bring into being a new party, disassociated from all taint of siding with the enemies of Great Britain, of pro-Boerism, or of the Irish Alliance. The logic of his

speech certainly points to the attempted evolution of a new central party in English public life, but whether his lordship means to lead that parity or only desires to "show the way to some other fellow" time alone can prove. Personally, I am inclined to think that Lord Rosebery will be content to continue as an

occasional factor in politics, in spite of his statement that his services "are at the disposal of my country." Hiis lordship opened by offering some "dispassionate and impartial advice" to Liberal politicians, the gist of which was that it is folly to promise what you cannot perform, or to attempt to move faster than the great mass of the nation is prepared to move, and a greater folly still for the leaders in the Liberal

ranks to disassociate themselves from the new Sentiment of Empire which occupies the mind of the nation and which is the "passionate instinct of affection, a family feelingof brotherhood and helpfulness."

He added in emphatic tones, "The statesman, however great he may be. who disassociates himself from that feeling must not be surprised if the nation disassociates itself from him." (Great applause.) Then he turned from his own party to gird at the Government, whose policy, he said, had resulted in such a hatred of us abroad. "That," he remarked, "was not the state in which this Government found our foreign relations in 1893." It was his first personal defence, and the meeting responded to it in a moment. So they did again, but with laughter, when he advised the Colonial Secretary to "keep his undoubted powers of iavective for his opponents at home, where they co^ild do comparatively little harm." A disquisition on thy Jameson Raid fell somewhat flat, though Lord Rosebery avowed he had never believed in the complicity of the Government. A declaration that the Ministry could have shortened the war and prevented "the insult of aggression" by taking measures proportionate to the extent of the Boer armaments appealed more to his hearers, as did his strong words on the conduct of the Government in taking a general election in September last year. When he said that the only reparation the Government could make was to decree another election the moment the war was over the cheers were deafening. Then he came to the no alternative Government theory. "No alternative Government to this," he cried. "No alternative Government to this? In all my life, and from all the bitterest foes of Great Britain — and, God knows, we have many enough — T have never heard such, disparagement to her as that doctrine involves." "If it be true, put up your shutters, forswear your Empire, go and dig in your cabbage garden. The nation which cannot produce an alternative Government to this is more fit to control allotments than an Empire."

So far he had evaded the differences in the Liberal Party, but when he came to the war this was no longer possible. First of all there was a distinct reference to Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, when he reprobated the imputations of barbarity as "words unhappily employed." Next was an approval of the Derby resolution so far as it related to concentration camps, but not as to martial law. That he was dead against, for his belief is that it ought to have been declared long before. Likewise was he opposed to declaring- our terms of peace to the Boers, because they knew them already. He was iv favour of "a passive policy of peace," not "an active policy of peace." That is, he would welcome and consider any overtures which, might come "by the "exiled Government" of ex-Presi-dent Kruger. He feared, however, that the British. Government was not so disposed. Amid a continuous wave of cheering he declared for a stern, efficient, vigorous prosecution of the war. He was dead against the recall of Lord Milner. Then he declared for as broad and large a policy of amnesty as possible, and he went briefly into other heads of settle-

ment. i Said Lord Rosebery: "'1 | would go so far as to give' full civil I rights to all Boers who took aivj j signed a definite and drastic oath u£ | allegiance. I believe that the sooner j you put them in a position of civil ' responsibility, of honourable loyalty to yourselves, the better it will b'i for yourselves and! South Africa. [ do not believe that as regards representative Government you can settle that at once. You must wait till th<? country is re-settled. Till thenj I would have a commission of four ( .»r five rough-and-ready administrators of the Indian type to settle the country. I would have them assisted by a representative committee, in which there should be a Boer element, and I would hasten as soon as possible the era at which responsible government could be granted. And with regard to all transactions which involve money, such as the re-settle-ment of farms, the re-stocking of the farms, the rebuilding of the farms. I would act with lavish liberality. We are spending five millions a month in prosecuting this war. 1 would infinitely rather spend that five millions a month in prosecuting, even by lavish generosity, a definite peace in South Africa, and ia appeasing the remains of civil rancour. The key and base of all is thl.s, that we are bound to the Boers for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in a permanent, inevitable and fateful marriage, which it is beyond our power to dissolve, and that it is in the interests of all of us, Boer as well as Briton, that a war such as this should never again be allowed to disturb and ravage that region."