The heart of the empire : discussions of problems of modern city life in England. With an essay on imperialism.

Date:
1901
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The heart of the empire : discussions of problems of modern city life in England. With an essay on imperialism. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    many months of anarchy, the Turks tried their methods on English soldiers, and what Lord Salisbury and his brother- diplomats had not the courage or the wit to do was done by Admiral Noel and his colleagues, and Turkish rule was expelled from the island. The next and final step, if the inhabitants so desire, must be the union of Crete with the Greek kingdom. The fear and suspicion of Russia have been described by Lord Salisbury, in the evening of his days, as an antiquated superstition. But antiquated superstitions have a disagreeable vitality, and this one in particular is not yet on its last legs. A strong party among us, represented perhaps more by Navy Leaguers, journalists, and Mr. Kipling than by our foremost statesmen, still believes that Russia’s gain is necessarily England’s loss, and that Russia must be stopped in Northern China, on the Persian Gulf, and on the borders of Afghanistan. It is unnecessary, undesirable, and impossible. The Allies won a Pyrrhic victory in the Crimea ; but Russia, which can afford to wait for the opportunity that is never long in coming, quietly announced the abrogation of the Black Sea clauses during the turmoil of the Franco-German War. Our policy is not to fight her nor insult her, but to deal with her. If she attacked India we should resist and resist successfully ; but she knows it is not worth her while to make the attempt. Our policy on the North- West frontier is to avoid a repetition of the disastrous blunders of the Afghan War, and to scrupulously respect the independence of Afghanistan. Gladstone’s wisdom in evacuating Candahar is generally recognised. To have kept the province would infallibly have thrown the Ameer into the arms of Russia. Afghanistan has not the slightest desire to part with her independence either to Russia or anybody else. She is a buffer state and strengthens our position more than an army corps, provided we do not revert to Lord Beaconfield’s policy of serving her with Ultimatums. In relation to France it is satisfactory to think that the possible causes of conflict have been reduced in the last few years. The valley of the Nile is not likely to be
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