SIR EDWARD GREY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXV, Issue LXV, 2 August 1913, Page 12

SIR EDWARD GREY.

THE MAN AND HIS VICTORY,

By a Diplomatist,

I do not believe the British people realise the extraordinary position which Sir Edward Grey has won for himself abroad in the past six months. He is at this moment easily and indis- ; putably the outstanding figure of : European diplomacy, the one man in [ the Chancelleries of Europe whose reputation in the multitudinous issues end events of the last half-year has definitely advanced. No diplomatist in Europe has shown himself so fertile in resource, so pertinent in suggestion, and so persuasively calm and moderate in his choice of language as Sir Edward Grey. He has spoken but rarely since the Allies took the field, but on each oc- I casion his words have been direct, con-! ciliatory and stamped with the spirit | and authority of real statesmanship. The few sentences in which he explained and defended the naval de- j monstration against Montenegro—so frank and cautious, so skilful in their avoidance of controversial phrases, and j so confident in the power of Europe ' to enforce her will without impatient violence—had, in particular, an instantaneous effect and were everywhere recognised as a model of statesmanlike oxDression. But Sir Edward Grey has done far xnoro for the peace of Europe than merely keep his head and talk briefly, wisely, and to the point. At the very outset of the Balkan convulsion he j took tho lead in keeping the Powers together, and he was the first to suggest the novel and flexible machinery of an Ambassadorial Conference for keeping the various Foreign Offices in touch, and therefore to some extent in line with one another. This was a timely and fruitful contribution to a general understanding, and it eanio with peculiar propriety i and weight from the British Foreign Secretary. For one thing, Sir Edward Grey has held his present post without I interruption for nearly seven and a! half years, and will, apparently, continue to hold it so long as the Liberals remain in power or until he becomes Prime Minister. No Continental politician who is now in office has guided the external affairs of his coun-. try for so long, nor does one of them, enjoy such an assurance of tenure as' Sir Inward Grey. That is a great advantage in his favor. Not only are the men he is called upon to deal with newer to the game than he is, but I there is every probability that he will he playing it after they have given it! up. THE POSITION OF GREAT BRITAIN. Thon, again, Sir Edward has been greatly helped by the singularly disinterested position Great Britain has occupied throughout the Balkan crisis. Our almost absolute detachment from the ambitions and contentions and the special interests that have engaged the thoughts of St. Petersburg, Berlin and Vienna has been of enormous assistance to Downing Street in playing the honest broker between the rival Powers. It is very likely, too, that the general uncertainty as to the British course of action if a Europeanconflict were to supervene has also lent ±o Sir Edward's diplomacy an added persuasiveness. Of all these advantages Sir Edward Grey has taiade the fullest possible use. He has worked early and late; his moderation and good sense and the implicit confidence he always in-! spires in his integrity as a man of.. candour and straight-forward dealings ; have been invaluable assets in the j cause of peace, and I have heard from ' more than one Ambassador that his skill as president of tho conferences j which have so materially helped to j harmonise tho differences between the' Great Powers, the modesty of his bearing, and the practical character of the expedients he has put forward have revealed him to his brother diplomats fgv the first time as a really big man. Upon th,e Eurppean as upon the 35ritisl_ mind the influence which Sir t^ard "gW se^. W above all things, the psychological influence oi j character. He has the same sort of power among diplomatists that he has in Parliament and among his own countrymen—the power that comes from his absolute honesty of mind and nature, combined with a balanced judgment and an air of being detached from the petty exigencies of the moment. For many thousands of quiet Englishmen Sir Edward's voice is the weightiest in British politics to-day, and his action on any doubtful issue counts for more than the decision cf any other man that I know of. A STRONG AND SUCCESSFUL MAN. Then, too, one must remember that the seven and a half years during which Sir Edward has been charged with the conduct of British foreign policy have been years of almost <. distant crisis and commotion. They have pretty thoroughly tested him, and by the universal judgment of friend and foe he has stood the test well. From his long duel with the Wilhelmstrasse over Morocco he emerged decidedly the victor; he is the first British statesman to seek and conclude an accommodation with Russia; and he has completely redeemed the old reputation of Liberal Governanents for a vacillating sentimentalism in the management of foreign affairs. Radicals have often girded at his silence and secretivcness and his insistence upon the recognition of facts, but abroad men simply see that he is a strong Minister and a successful «-tiQ.