THE PEACE CONVENTION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CI, Issue 11884, 6 May 1899, Page 10

THE PEACE CONVENTION.

A WORD OP WARNING FROM MR J. MOBLEY.,; MR COURTNEY’S VIEWS. ■ rPnoM Orh Coehespondent.] L LONDON, March 24. •. Mr' stead’s -v grandilcxiuently.christened “ National ■ Convention in Furtherance of the 'lnternational' Crusade of Peace duly held in London this week, and, if the gowi man thinks it has m any way aided his Utopian schemes, he is profoundly welcome to that not very -general opinion, _ Perhaps the best tldng I can do to persuade you of the light-in-which the majority of En o lish men’view this movement is to point to the men Mr Stead was able to tojs his metropohtan campaign. Lord Aberdeen presided ■ WeR, Lord Aberdeen is all ■ . not deny that he is a “faddisffhtom toe House of Commons came Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Mr Courtney, Mr Burt, Mr Wilson, Sir Charles Cameron, and Mr Carvell Wu Bams, and the only other notables preset were Sir Lewis Moms, Lady Ircdenck Cavendish, “Edna Lyall (Miss Bayly), .Mr Percy Bunting, and some provincial 'Mayers. Not a very gaudy display for tW meetings. Eminent politicians (liberals and Conservatives) ™ conspicuous 'by absence. The jU Sronghout ignored the movement officially, . and onTuesday something (perhaps the infhMßza) kept even the Nonconformist , con- . ooehhr against an apparently bemg ll . move- ’’ apology from . vrish the. movement well but are unfortu- ' tnately prevented from attending, invariably * S » big feature of Mr Stead’s meetings, and did. so on Tuesday. ■ , ' , The most important was from Mr John < iforiev. and it contained a word of warning whfcb may give pause to some of the more .. thoughtful enthusiasts regarding the Czars Congress. Suppose, instead of bettering things, this International Conference in . Mayonly stits-np strife. It is by no means ’ • an impossible contingency. Mr John Moriey sa*s;—‘This, at least, is certain, that if the Conference does not make international conditions much better, it will leave them muck worse. Failure must mean the-awaken-ine of new elements of- jealousy, soreness, and confusion, and this-is a reason the more, in addition to a hundred others, is why England should bend the whole of her immense . strength to render the Conference a prac- , tidal success.” , e . The speeches at both meetings were of the usual character. Lord. Aberdeen, upon Whom the lessons of history do-not seem to ■ have- exerted conspicuous effect, counselled imr' placing every confidence m the-friend-liness of Russia. It was shockmp- that toe • Czar’s" Rescript should have been eyetf with • suspicion in certain quarters, and , that even > her Majesty’s Government had received the beneficent project without enthusiasm. ■ i From Mr Whitcley and other orators we /gathered that-a “ Pilgrimage of British Cru- . ’.saders to the Throne of the Great White • Ctar” (specially conducted by Mr Stead) had been* feature of this year’s demonstoations; Apparently, however, umther the ' Czar nor provincial audiences took knw ‘to this development. His Imperial .Majesty “ feared ridicule,” as w®U,he and the Scotch meetings heckled Mr Stead royally about jt. . ~ 1 Mr Stead, himself on Tuesday was .dis- ‘ tinctly snappy. He said'that there had, been ■ many things that combined to break down the national conscience, and on© of those things had been the extentto- which for long years we' profited by the memory and heroic-exploits of their one- gteat leader, . Mr Gladstone. (Cheers.) Who was to follow Mr Gladstone and Mr Bright to voice the moral sense of the nation?; (Voices: Harcourt-and Moriey,”) Mr Stead replied, “ Sir William. Hareourt has resigned and,Mr. Moriey is ill. We have failed, although . we almost pleaded on our knees, to obtain on© sympathetic word from Sir William, Har- ' .court, and when we are left in ,a crisis like ' this, with leaders who are afraid, and with others ,who can hardly speak * with bated - breath and whispering humbleness,’ my friends' we have got to save ourselves.” (Cheers.) Continuing, Mr Stead urged that if this movement were to be made-a* success, they must get rid once and for all of any idea-of being afraid to be a friend of Russia. So long as we walked in the path of hatred, . antagonism, distrust-of Russia, there would not, and ought not, to be any real peace.” The most important speech at the evening meeting was that of Mr Courtney, who frankly stated that he did not think that the Conference of Nations had a very pro- ' wiigyng task. It was just posable that the status quo might be accepted, but it was doubtful, if that were accepted in form, whether it could be maintained in reality. The Government, however, had shown that they were ready to act upon the first item 'of the Czar’s programme. He confessed ■ ‘ that he bad at heart something more ' thorough, more fundamental, than that of bettering the conditions Under which-Avar should be waged. There- were certain words 'T a,); the close of the Imperial despatch which deserved their great consideration. The Chancellor of the Russian Empire spoke of : Lis Imperial master as looking forward to the time when the corporate conscience of Europe should recognise that on those rnrin- ■ cipies of right, equity, and friendship rested the security- of nations and the wel- '' fare of peoples.' Could We do anything to realise that corporate'conscience of right .ami equity which should substitute justice for force, ■which should make law take the niaee of arms, and which should enthrone i lie domain of reason, of goodwill. . and peace -for the nations of Europe? (Cheers). It seemed to him that there-was a way by which it could Be done. (Cheers). It was a way proceeding upon old lines, • along a path of historic development, attempting nothing impossible, taking away nothing from the ultimate light, the free action on the part of every State, yet introducing into the conduct of business between States, rules and principles which, might operate as a bar to their plunging into war. (Cheers). What was that? In the Congress of Paris, which closed the Crimean war, our Plenipotentiar- (Lord Clarendon) got the representatives of the Powers to agree to a declaration that the Powers recognised it would be well if, before war broke out between any two of them, the two,Powers fhat were going to war should consult the other Powers upon the cause of the quarrel, without, however, committing "themselves to accept the decision. They went a little further, however. They entered into a convention wu-i each other to the same’ effect, limiting it, however, to . their, relations with Turkey. Here was a • convention which might be made general, instead of being specially applied to Turkey. It appeared to Mm that that was a proposal which our Plenipotentiary, if necessary, might urge upon the conference (Hear, hear). It would dishonour none. On the contrary, he rather thought it would honour anyone who brought it forward. (Cheers).