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. LIBERAL MEETING AT CAR'…

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SETTLEMENT IN THE TRANSVAAL. he knew what he was about, and Britain would find it to her cost after many years of fighting and friction in South Africa (cheers). He begged those who supported the war to consider carefully before they committed themselves to a policy which I would impose enormous extra burdens on our shoulders when we had now quite as much as we could manage. Let them,, think for a moment what was the position of Britain having regard to other nations. I We had not a single friend of any potency, Even America, which had been drawing towards us, was now against us. There was not a single country in Europe of any note I that supported the war. The greatest in- tellects in Europe condemned it—the great- est historian in Europe condemned it, and the greatest historian in England Mr Leoky—who was a Conservative, also con- demned it. France disliked us, and Ger- many hated us. The Liberal Press of Germany had gone against us, and, what counted for more, there was a rising tide I of public opinion against us in the United States, and one great party there was even committed to intervention. Were they sure that America would not be compelled by the overwhelming rush of public opinion I to intervene. That was a horrible thing to contemplate, and it was well to consider whether the annexation of two little com- j munities like this, inhabiting a barren J wilderness was worth all the bloodshed and bitterness' which a protracted war would mean (applause). He was told that we were fighting for the cause of humanity. There weire certain things for which he would be prepared to support Britain if necessary against the whole world. Britain stood practically alone against the des- potism of Napoleon.. Britain was right, and Britain conquered because she had right on her side (cheers). Britain may yet have to fight practically the whole world, and if she has right on ber Side she will yet con- quer (cheers). But was there anything in the course of the present war that would rouse sufficient moral enthusiasm in the people without which self-sacrefice was impossible? There was nothing ennobling in increased dividends, and the Outlanders 'would have had the franchise before the war, had it not been for the CRUEL BLUNDERING pf Mr Chamberlain—(cheers)—who disliked to be beaten over a matter of form by a farmer. As to the ill-treatment of the I natives, no-such charge had been made against the Boers until aften. the outbreak of war. It was like accusing a man when he was on the scaffold. That was British justice. He asked them to remember three things-naraely, that Mr Chamberlain had never in his despatches accused the Boers oi having ill-treated the natives, that none of the South. African Churches had passed any resolution on that question un- til the quarrel between the Dutch and En- glish five years ago, and that those natives wno had the franchise in our colonies always I voted for Dutchmen in preference to En- J glishmen. He also asked them to remem- j ber that the majority of the ministers of religion in South Africa were against the war. Ah, but it would be said that these were Dutchmen. Yes, and as such they Understood the language and character of the. people (hear,^fiear). What had the clergy of the aliea Church of England said about Wales (A voice: "Lies")? Who knew the W.elshi people better? Their own ministers who spoke their language and had risen from their rankst, or the English ) parsons wilo came to fatten on Welsh tithes, knowing nothing and sympathising not at ail with the language, traditions, and character of the people? (hear, hear). Let Welshmen judge of others as they them- selves would be judged (loud applause). He (the speaker) belonged to a small nation, and he wanted fair play for small nations (cheers)- The powerful nation would trample upon us unless we fought for our rights. People who did not know the Dutch and their language suspec- j ted them, but he would rather j believe people who knew them and had been with them. Most of the missibli work in South Africa was done by the Dutch, who gave more towards mission work than the i English. As to the statement that the government of the Transvaal was corrupt, J he ventured to say that there was more cor- I ruption in this country, and they need not f go elsewhere to look for it. With the ex- I ception of the Duke of Norfolk and the son I of Lord Salisbury, the British Cabinet had contributed nothing to the war of which J they were the authors, but, with two ex- ceptions — one an old man of nearly eighty I years of age—every member of the Trans- vaal Executive had taken the field, and two of them had died in defence of their country — one of them in battle and the other the noble-minded Joubert (applause) — under the weight of the campaign. Every man and every boy in the Transvaal had shouldered their rifles in proof of their convictions. This was not the stuff that cowards were made of, and such men had a right to a hearing from the public of this country. In concluding, he again ap- pealed to the people of Wales themselves, a little nation that had fought for centuries for their rights, not to take part in the work of extinguishing these two little Re- publics of South Africa (applause). Mr Herbert Lewis, who was very cor- dially received, said that he was proud to stand on that platform with the man who I had represented the Carnarvon Boroughs in three Parliaments — (cheers) — and who had always spoken out his mind and con- science without fear or favour (cheers). i However unpopular the course he took J might for the moment appear he ventured I to say that men of integrity of that kind were rare and precious. It would be neither right nor wise, as fortunately it was not possible, to close the mouth of such a man (cheers). He said it was easy to make confident predictions as to the peace and tranquility that were to follow the present war. Forty years ago John Bright had made a protest against the war very similar to the present, and almost the whole country was against him, and his constitu- ency rejected him. Now everybody ad- mitted that John Bright was right in his views, and in ten or twenty years hence the nation would endorse the protests now being made against the present war. In view5 of this fact, it was only right that freedom of speech should be allowed to all j who wished calmly to discuss the situation (applause). That was what 1 PARLIAMENT, PRESS, AND PLAT- j FORM were for. Owing to a technical point, Par- liament had not been able to discuss the question properly (hear, hear). As to the Press in South Africa, the greater portion of it was in the hands of Cecil Rhodes, and had been poisoned at its very source. In this country it was a matter for deep re- gret that men like Mr Massingham (cheers) and Mr Cocke and Mr Spender had been driven from their editorial chairs in, London on account of their attitude on this question ("Shame"). And what about the platform? I Well, he thought that Mr Lloyd George I had had a better reception at Carnarvon that night- than anywhere else (cheers), but similar meetings elsewhere had been assailed and attacked up by mobs (Shame). It was for the safety of the country and for the future well-being of South Africa that public men should have the right to discuss that question. There were alter- natives between complete independence on the one hand and complete subjection on the other. These at all events should be considered. Whatever settlement was arrived at we should not forget we were a Christian nation. If we adopted the old Roman maxim, "Woe to the conquered," the Bri- tish Empire would soon go the way of the Roman Empire (cheers). He hoped that the Liberal party in this country would not forget Liberal principles. What did they hear now-a-days? They actually heard a demand from South Africa for the suppression of the Dutch language in courts of law and in Parliament. We must remember that the English language i was not the only language. There were other languages besides, and they had, for instance, seen the Welsh language treated with great injustice in this country of theirs. Dealing with the after-settle- ment, Mr Lewis claimed that the previous excellent rule of the Free State Govern- ment, and its loss of Kimberley by the scandalous action of the British Govern- ment, entitles it to more than justice at the hands of the British Government. It deserved generosity. Whatever settle- ment they arrived at, neither Rhodes nor the German Jew capitalist should have any share in it (hear, hear). As to the grievances on such questions as language, corrupt government, monopolies, liquor laws, and the endowment of religion against the will of the people he, which were alleged to have been the cause of the war in South Africa, he found very similar causes for complaint in this country. Yet we had no war (cheers). A great point made against the Transvaal was that the minority governed the majority. He asked what had been their complaint in Wales all these years? Their complaint had been that while the present Govern- ment had been in power the minority had been governing the majority in Wales (cheers). There were 25 Welsh Liberal members against Dine Welsh Conservative members in the House of Commons, butT any claim put forward on behalf of Wales by the former was defeated. And before they went to South Africa with Maxim guns and 250,000 troops to force the' Boers there were certain things in our own country that re- quired to be remedied. The Government were going to ridel into power a,t the next election on the patriotic horse. The object was to snatch party advantage out of the victor- ies of the British arms. They would ask the electors to forget all the criminal folly and ineptitude they had shown with regard to the eonduct of the war. They would ask the electors to forget the omission to fulfil pledges that were made at the last general election on the strength of which they were returned to power. They would also expect the electors to forget the follies of their foreign policy, which had resulted in British trade being crippled in different parts of the world. Had the same thing happened un- der a Liberal Government they would never have heard the last of it (hear, hear). The responsibility for the MISTAKES IN DIPLOMACY that the present Government had made was tremendous. Their defence was that they knew no more than the man in the street (laughter). Mr Froude had said that all the present trouble had arisen from the an- nexation of Kimberley, which was formerly in the t'r State, by the British Govern- ment. Referring to the claim made by the Government that its hands had been tied by the Jameson Raid, Mr Lewis said our hands were tied by the fact that the man who had broken hi" oath as a Privy Council- lor had still been allowed to remain a mem- jberof Her Majesty's Privy Council "Shame") I In conclusion, Mr Lewis expressed the hope that when the next election came the Lib- erals of the Carnarvon Boroughs would be loyal to Mr George, even though they did not now see eye to eye with him (loud cheers). Air Bryn Roberts, M.P., supported the resolution, and defended the attack made upon him and Mr George. All they had done was to criticise the policy of the Government, an attack which he denied affected the fortunes of the war in any shape or form. He said he was afraid the Govern- ment, in publishing the Spion Kop II despatches, desired to divert the rising in- dignation of the country for the authors of the war to the Generals who were conducting it (cheers and "Shame"). Mr Roberts dealt with the evidence upon which the war was believed to be the result of a capi- talist plot, and pointed out at length how easily mistakes about the white flag might be made in cases where a fight covered ten miles of ground, when the combatants were scattered parties only occasionally visible, and when the snfokeless powder gave no clue to the direction from which bullets came. Charges of misuse of the white flag were made against both sides, and both sides h'e believed were guiltless of intention to break the usages of honourable warfare. It was monstrous that such charges should be used, as they had been in this country, to blacken the character of the Boers (cheers). He hoped the general election would turn upon the justice cr injustice of the war, and that the electors would visit the punishment on the right shoulders those of Mr Chamberlain and the Tory Cabinet (cheers). The proposition was carried with only one dissentient. On the motion of Mr J. T. Roberts, sec- onded by Mr Daniel Rees, a vote of con- fidence in Mr Lloyd George was unanimously passed. Mr Lloyd George, in responding, said he had been asked why he had voted against the Government receiving supplies for the war. He and his friend, Mr Bryn Roberts, did so because it was a perfectly logical stand. If by doing so they were traitors they were in ( good company. Lord Chatham, John, Bright, and the most noble example of all, j Mr Joseph Chamberlain, were traitors too, j for they all voted against supplies to pro- I secute a war—(cheers)—-because they dis- | approved of the war (cheers). Even were he in favour of this war he would not vote a sixpence to a Government which had so mismanaged it,and h/ad the Opposition been successful they would have turned out this I miserable Government and brought in another who would have applied thte money properly, honestly, and for a faithful pur- I pose (cheers). The hon. member then moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman, I which was carried by acclamation. At the close of tho meeting, Mr Lloyd George and his two companions, Mr Bryn Roberts and Mr Herbert Lewis, entered a carriage which was within a cordon of police. As the carriage moved through the crowd the constables moved forward; also dividing the throng. Thus the vehicle passed out I of Eastgate street into Bangor street, and I tbemce to the main road to the residence of Mr Bryn Roberts at Bangor. I

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. LIBERAL MEETING AT CAR'…