My letter of last week had scarcely been despatched when Mr. Balfour made in the House of Cotamons the important announcement that the Boer leaders who had been consul: ing together under the British flag at Pretoria had left to consult their commandos, "It is not expected," lis added, "that communications can be resumed in less than three weeks," s0 we have in all probability at least two weeks to wait befure we know anything further. That in the meantime the military operations have not ceased we know from rd Iiste, - Gonoral Delaroy's brother has fallen Kitchener's despatch and from the casualty
into our hands; and among a serious list of British officers killed and wounded is Sir Thomas Fowler, who lost his life on Sunday in an engagement about which we have no particulars excep: such as the casualty lists afford. He was the only son of the late Sir Rt, N. Fowler, sometime Lord Mayor and for many years member of Parliament for the city of London, and as he was himself unmarried the baronetcy conferred on his father becomes extinct, A Unionist Revolt.
Mr. Balfour's announcement has of course greatly encouraged the hopes of porce and there has been in consequence little discussion on the subject of the war. But last. night Mr. John Morley raised in the House "f Commo s a heated de-Date on whap ix known as the Cartwright case. My. Cuvtwright recently completed his sentence of twelve months' imprisonment at the Cape for a shameful seditious libel on Lord Kitchener, whom he accused of having given secret orders that Boers who raised the white flag were not to be made prisoners bub shot. So far no decent person can have the slightest symp thy with Mr, Cartwright; but he has served his santene", and he has applied for permission to leave South Africa and come to England, o1 the very reason able ground that he' has no longer any chance vf earning a living by his profession in South Africa. Under martial law he has been forbidden to leave, and Lord Stanley, when questioned on' th subject, defended this decisis on on the extrandinary ground that "it is mot deemed desirable by the authorities in South Africa to increase the number of persons in this country who disseminate "nti-British propaganda." 'I could not have believed it possible," Sir William Harcourt said in the course of the debate, "that in the 20th Century, from the constitute-anal party, we shoul: hear that martial law is not. to be confined to South Africa, that it is for Lord Kitchener ner martial Lu t+ determin what. is to be the conduct of " Bri ish subject in a British land" And a good many Unionists took this view. No fewer than eight voted against the Government, an several others refrained from voting. Doubtless more would have done so but for the feeling that Mr. Morley's motion might be regarded as a vote of censure on Lord Kitchener. Technically, no doubt, Lord Kitchener, as Commander-in-Chief in South africa is responsible; but actually no doubt the blunder was committed Ly some subordinate, The Great Shipping Combine. Tmmense interest has been naturally creat ed, not only in commercial circles but among the public generally, by the announcement of the formation of Mr. Pierpont Morgan's great Atlantic Steamship Trust, with a capital of 170 million U.S. dollars. The "Times" and some other journals give a cordial welcome to the new trust, on the ground that it will "consolidate the position of the British lines and at the sar e time effect a great improvement in the ce ditions of the North Atlanticlinesfor allconcerned." Certainly the scheme is far better than was expected, in that it involves no change of flag for the British steamers. But whether the Trust will " effect improvement for all concerned" may well be doubled. Trusts do not gene lly effect an improvement for consumers, but the reverse. It may be true as the "Times" says, that competition has ceased to he the last word of political economy combination whi on must be to keep up prices, and s will doubtless be the effect of the great: shipping trust.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.