Page:The Annual Register 1899.djvu/146

 138] ENGLISH HISTOEY. [/dot

of Cape Colony, to bring about an amicable arrangement will be successful."

Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman had a further opportunity (June 30) at the City Liberal Club of reviewing the state of affairs at home and abroad — the former in the light of the recent bye- elections, and the latter by the aid of Mr. Chamberlain's speeches and recently-issued South African Blue Book. In reply to the toast of his health, he said there were signs both inside and out- side the House of Commons that the power of the Government was waning with a corresponding rise of confidence and spirit in the Liberal party. As to South Africa, every man should be careful to say nothing to prejudice the settlement. He adhered to every word he said at Ilford, and he would repeat one sentence — " I can see nothing whatever in all that has occurred to justify either warlike action or military preparations." He did not like the word imperialism, for it covered the plainest duty or the wildest folly according to the man who uttered it. Sensible men were ready to accept the responsibilities we had under- taken, but they had no liking for new enterprises, for the most part visionary. He believed those sensible men constituted the enormous majority of the Liberal party, and were even repre- sented in the present Cabinet. At home the prominent question was the Clergy Belief Bill, on whose origin he thought he could throw some light. When it first appeared he had warned the Government of the storm it would create, and ever since he had been the recipient of letters from country clergymen which showed a strange similarity, and were, though no doubt perfectly sincere, written to order, and, in fact, many of the writers signed themselves as members of the Federation of the Clergy. Think what an influence such a federation must exert on a Tory Government — a trade union of clerical voters and organisers threatening to strike. The bill did not amend the law ; it only gave a sum of money to stop the mouths of complainers, giving most to those who required least. What had been the com- plaints made all through the present Parliament ? That without doing anything to carry out their promises of social reform, in spite of their great majority in both Houses, the Government had given boons of public money, first of all to their friends, as- they called them, the agricultural ratepayers, leaving out the rural ratepayers who were not agricultural, and leaving out the urban ratepayers, upon whom the rates were much more burden- some ; and, in the second place, to clerically governed schools ; and now came the present Dill, uniting both faults. It was not the resistance of the Opposition that the Government had to fear. The speeches of Mr. Whiteley and Mr. Courtney showed what some of their followers thought.

The only other Cabinet Minister who spoke in public during the month was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and his anxie- ties were financial rather than political, no anticipation of having to provide for extra expenditure seeming to overshadow hinu