and knowing who sit in the other House, where I was one of their companions, I cannot but believe that the large majorities which the noble duke has dwelt upon have been accorded to the present Government because it was believed they were a Government resolved to maintain the fame and strength of England.

219

SPEECH ON ADDRESS. January 7, 1881.

[Lord Beaconsfield here reviews the policy of the new Government in endeavouring to undo whatever their predecessors had accomplished both in Eastern Europe, in India, and in Ireland. The charge was denied by Lord Granville, who declared that at the Foreign Office the policy of the late Government was being steadily carried out.]

THE

HE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD, who was cheered on rising, said,-My lords, I wish I could feel it my duty to treat the matters before us to-night in as pleasant a manner as the two noble lords who have just addressed us have done. I agree with my noble friend and neighbour who moved the address that the times are critical, and, although I am sure that your lordships are not pessimists, and although, whatever my errors are, pessimism is not generally among the imputations made against me, I confess I have never addressed Parliament with a more deep sense of anxiety and gloom than that which the present state of affairs brings me to feel. There have been occasions in which our foreign affairs have filled us with anxiety, occasions on which our colonial position has been very critical. There have been occasions before this on which our domestic interests, influenced by Ireland, filled the nation with alarm. There have been occasions also in which events have occurred which have demanded the serious attention of Parliament, and which cannot, perhaps, be ranged under the heads I have noticed. But, my lords, I do not recollect a time in which, not only our foreign relations, not only our position in important colonies, not only the almost unparalleled state of our relations with Ireland, but the many other troubles which may require your attention this session, all at the same time have occurred and have demanded the deepest consideration, the deepest sense of responsibility, on the part of your lordships. And, my

lords, I am bound to say that I cannot help feeling that much of the disaster with which we have to grapple at present, is to be attributed in a great degree to the spirit in which Her Majesty's present ministers acceded to office.

My lords, in old days, in times within our experience, when there was a change of administration, it was always considered the duty of both parties to effect no more alteration in the general conduct of our affairs than was absolutely necessary. On former occasions it was generally understood that though there ought to be, and, of course, there was, a due assertion of differences of party principle, still, so far as it was possible, unnecessary changes were to be discouraged in the general conduct of our affairs, so that there should be some continuity of policy; and though there were imputations made, I fear sometimes with justice, but often very unjustly, against our parliamentary government, of the inconsistency in which it involved our affairs, very frequently parliamentary government could not justly be open to that imputation. Well, my lords, it must be admitted that this action to which I have referred introduced some feeling of magnanimity into public life, and its absence is very much to be regretted. No doubt it added greatly to the strength of our functions. But when the new administration was formed nothing of the kind was done. On the contrary, in every manner and on every occasion it was announced that the change of Government meant a change in every part and portion of the Government; that everything which had been concluded was to be repudiated; that everything consummated was to be reversed, and upon the most important questions, either of our foreign relations, our colonial situation, or our domestic policy with regard to Ireland, upon all these questions the utmost change must immediately and rapidly be accomplished. Perpetual and complete reversal of all that had occurred was the order that was given and the profession that was an

nounced.

See, my lords, how this has worked. Take the case which the noble lord who has just addressed you adduced-take the case of our foreign relations. The system of repudiating everything that was approved, promoted, or carried into effect by

their predecessors, this system may be tried very well upon the very subject to which the noble lord has referred. Everything was to be altered. Well, though you might denounce and abuse the Treaty of Berlin, you could not repudiate that treaty, and you could not reverse it. The Treaty of Berlin, being so completely disapproved of by the new Government, it was proposed, most ingeniously, that, as there had been a Congress at Berlin, there should also be a Conference at Berlin; and it was generally understood and felt by everyone that that meant that the regulations of the Congress of Berlin were in fact to be modified, changed, and superseded by the determinations of the Conference. Now, how has that been accomplished? In my observations to-night I will avoid arguing on matters of policy, for which there will be other occasions; but all sensible men will agree that, whatever may have been the defects of the Treaty of Berlin-though I admit none-or the points that may have been neglected or left unsettled, one thing was quite clear and was generally admitted, that at last the peace of Europe was secured. I believe that the Conference of Berlin had the contrary effect, and I think I am not using an unauthorised expression when I say that the result of that Conference was, that the war in the East of Europe and in the West of Asia was on the point of being revived, and England was near being a belligerent, and a belligerent, too, against our old ally. No one can say now that the peace of Europe is certain, or that we are perfectly secure. We have very little information on this subject, though I presume that more will be afforded, but from what we see there is no doubt that even in the space of twenty-four hours events may occur which might shake that peace. What is the cause of all this? It is because Her Majesty's Government, directly they took office, got into this system of superseding and disturbing everything their predecessors had settled.

Now let me advert to another question-that, namely, of Afghanistan. That is a question that must come before the House, and I believe my noble friend the late Governor-General of India will take an opportunity of bringing it before your lordships' notice. Whatever may be our opinion as to the

policy or impolicy of the military occupation of Afghanistan, in this, I think, all will agree-that it was an event of great political moment, and that it was undertaken in consequence of information, part of which only has as yet been revealed to the country, but which is adequate to enable them to learn that it was preceded by startling incidents of conduct on the part of another great Power, which demanded serious consideration. Her Majesty's Government may be perfectly right in the views they take on the subject of Afghanistan. The occupation of that country may have been a most impolitic act, and it may be their duty to counteract its effect, and to terminate the policy that we attempted to establish. All this may

be perfectly true, but all impartial persons will feel that such a step should be taken with great prudence, that it should be taken gradually, and that ministers ought not to have gone to the housetops to proclaim their peril to the world—their peril; I may rather say their perplexity. We must remember also that the military feat of the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan was no mean one. Rarely have the discipline and valour of our troops, both British and native, been more distinguished, and, above all, we have produced a General equal to any conjuncture of the war. These were all circumstances that won respect in Asia and Europe; but the ministers, as I say, go to the housetops to proclaim to every bazaar in the East that they do not know what to do, and that, after all this anxiety, they are going to scuttle out of the country as fast as they can.

What I want your lordships chiefly to observe is the consequence of such conduct, which is of the most destructive and deleterious kind. It may have been our policy to quit Afghanistan, but if we quit it in this spirit and after such declarations every military adventurer feels, 'This is my opportunity: the British are going to leave this country, and I will succeed them as far as I can.' Clearly, you have produced a state of anarchy, and at last you say that you will consummate your confession of impotence and blundering by giving up the city of Candahar. But why has all this taken place? Because there have been declarations made on the subject, declarations of the most unmeasured kind; because the country has been agitated to