Wo have during the past thirty-six hoars been anxiously awaiting news of the fall of Port Arthur; but our hopes have again proved to be premature. Still very little doubt is entertained hero that the Russian catastrophe will occur, if not within the next few days, at all events long before the Baltic fleet gets to the Far East, and there is a firm belief here that it will never get there at all. Even the strongest anti-Russians need therefore feel no regret that we have not stopped the fleet at Vigo; indeed many hold that the kindest thing we could do for Russia would be to stop them. I believe, however, there is good ground for the report that Lord Lansdowne received from M. Cambon a distinct warning that if after Russia had offered us reasonable amends for the North Sea outrage we persisted in stopping the Baltic fleet by force, France would feel bound, under the terms of the Franco-Russian alliance to intervene by force on behalf of her ally. No one therefore should blame our Government for striving to the utmost degree compatible with honour to avoid the necessity of action which would involve at least three great European Powers in, war.
Home Politics One little advantage Mr. Balfour has derived from this lamentable incident. Before it happened everyone in this country was on the tiptoe of expectation to know what the Prime Minister would say at Southampton about the fiscal question—how he would manage to stick to his resolution not to go beyond his Sheffield programme and at the same time appease ths Chamborlainites. The Russian outrage gave him the opportunity of shelving the whole question and saying nothing about it. With this view ho deliberately did his best to keep the country for seven or eight hours in ignor"ece of the settlement of the crisis Sthe temporary settlement if it should prove to be no more—in order that the might reap the advantage of making announcement at a party gathering. In the meantime the party wire-pullers had been striving with considerable success to bring the National Union of Conservati Association to an appearance of unity on the fiscal question. This was done by inducing the withdrawal of all the Chamberlainite resolutions and concentrating attention upon a resolution moved by Mr. Chaplin endorsing Mr. Balfour's programme, and especially approving his proposal for a Colonial Conference. Then the Conference proc urge the Government to tackle the redistribution question before dissolving. But whether the Government will adopt this advi by no moans certain. The subject bri with difficul-redistribution. representation would not, in their view, be compensated for by a still groater reduction in the Nationalist representation, Of course redistribution, if carried out in defiance of the Act of Union, would materially decrease the Irish Nationalist vote, but at least a portion of the gain would go to the English Liberals, and it is probable therefore that the Conservative party as a whole would be worse off rather than better. This of Course is looking at the question from a purely party point of view. In abstract justice a Redistribution Bill is certainly heeded since one voter in Kilkenny City has as largo a share of representation as about fifteen in Wandsworth.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.