HELIGOLAND AND THE LATE LORD SALISBURY.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2656, 30 December 1915, Page 6

HELIGOLAND AND THE LATE LORD SALISBURY.

In tile othcraise interesting aruclc from the London ''Daily News" iwncu appears in your issue of December 28, that paper is guilty of a characteristic bit of suggestio falsi. I refer to that portion of the article in which it uses these words, "When, in 1890, Lord Salisbury exchanged Heligoland, to Germany. ' Tho obvious intention of this curiously-worded sentence is to lead its readers to beliove that Lord Salisbury was responsible for tho cession of the island to Germany. Tho "Daily News knows better. It knows that this surrender, togetlur with that of what is how German East Africa, was agreed to by tho late Mr. AV. E. Glad' stone in 1885, in "exchange" for certain bogus German rights in tho island or Zanzibar, which was within our sphere of influence." • 100i ISalisbury1Salisbury came into power m 18So ho found his haudj firmly tied by tlus fatal agreement. For four years he endeavoured to obtain its annulment or variation, at least so far as Heligoland was concerned. But it was too cleverly drawn. And in June, 1890, he had reluctantly to carry it out.- This instance of the contempt with which the •English peace-at-any-price party treated the best interests of the Empire and of the colonies does not stand alone. For every single German colony lvhicli we have already taken, or are in process of taking, had once been a British* possession or within a British "sphere of influence." I should like to bo able to add that that party was defunct. But- unfortunately it is not ouly very much alive, but it has at least six representatives in the National Cabinet, viz., Lord Crewe and Messrs. L. V. Harcourt, Birrell, M'Kenna, Macnamara, and M'Kinnon Wood. No wonder that tho Cabinet does not act promptly or firmly. No wonder that it is dangerously divided.—l am, etc., ENGLISHMAN.