Punch (77.1879)

38 PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. [August 2, 1879.

PUNCH'S ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT.

ll in vain {Monday,
July 21), Lord Sel-
borne called Spain
over the coals for her
broken treaties and
violated laws in
prohibition of Sla-
very and the Slave
Trade. There is no
more hideous history,

no more damning guilt than that of the Spaniard in this matter.
Cuba is the slave-trader's heaven and the negro's hell, and the Don
his Devil.

Lord Salisbury could but admit the truth of Lord Selborne's
indictment, and argue that we should do more harm than good by
moving or meddling. "Slave emancipation was a matter of time
and conditions and precautions. It was only by restraining our-
selves that we could get rid of one of the greatest evils that ever
disgraced humanity ('common form'), and enable the Spanish
Government to follow their own high-minded and humane instincts."

Oh ! oh ! It almost takes one's breath away.

Lord Salisbury can be bitterly and scornfully satirical; and
this was an occasion to justify satire. But isn't the irony of these
last words almost too savage ?

Lord Granville said non-interference might be all very well, but
how when we had treaties to found interference upon ? In 1817, in
consideration of £400,000 paid by England, Spain had entered into
a solemn engagement to abolish Slavery in all her dominions from
the end of 1820. Ever since she had been importing slaves into
Cuba by hundreds of thousands. There was a debate now going on

in the Spanish Chamber on the subject of Slavery, and the Oppo-
sition there was pressing the Government in the direction of Lord
Selborne's speech and motion. Our Government might strengthen
the Opposition's hands.

Our Government knows better.

Lord Beaconsfield, after remarking that it was not wise to rest
upon treaties, but rather upon private and friendly representations
to foreign Governments, thus propounded his theory of spirited
foreign policy in relation to treaty obligations :—

" They had taken every opportunity of binding foreign Govern-
ments by treaty. They never contemplated that those treaties should
be enforced as a matter of course if there were any apparent reluct-
ance on the part of foreign powers to fulfil their engagements. They
had trusted as much as they could to moral influence in order to gain
their object."

Bravo, Lord B. ! " Moral influence " has answered so admirably
with the Turks. Why should it not work as well with the
Spaniards ? And so, no doubt, it will. One is quite proud to feel
one' sown Government on such friendly terms with two such '' humane
and high-minded " Powers.

Army Discipline and Regulation Bill read a Second Time, with
goodspeeds from the two War Office Viscounts—Cranbbook and
Cardwell—who can hardly, one woidd think, feel quite comfortable
about our Army just now.

Lord Granville protested against the measure being considered
as necessarily perfect on the points in controversy under it. Con-
sidering its Commons' history, it would be very odd if it were.

[Commons.)— Monday Popular Concert of Question and Answer.
Inter alia, Sir George Campbell had a curiosity to know where the
money for the African War came from. Whereupon Sir Stafford
gave the House an instructive little lecture on the mysteries of the