r any practical or useful
purpose, but very dangerous to us." And then there was Mr. Morley. Now
Mr. Morley, only a week before, at Oxford (June 10th), had condemned
not only the war, but by implication, the rejection of President
Krueger's illusory Franchise Bill.

[Sidenote: Mr. John Morley.]

"I assert," said Mr. Morley, "that the evils which have resulted
from the war immeasurably transcend the evils with which it was
proposed to deal.... I abhor the whole transaction of the war. I
think in many ways it is an irreparable situation. We have done
a great wrong--a wrong of which I believe there is scarcely any
Englishman living who will not bitterly repent."[212]

[Footnote 212: Mr. Morley has the doubtful merit of
consistency. As recently as April 27th, 1906, he alluded to
the South African War as "that delusive and guilty war," in
an address to the Eighty Club. According to _The Times_
report this expression was received with cheers.]

With these words fresh in his memory, Mr. Chamberlain continued:

"Is Mr. Morley a Liberal? I do not know in that case what would
become of the new territories if his principles were applied. But
this I do know--that in that case you would have immediately to
get rid of Sir Alfred Milner, who is the one great official in
South Africa who has shown from the first a true grasp of the
situation; and you would have also to get rid of the Colonial
Secretary, which would not, perhaps, matter."[213]

[Footnote 213: It may perhaps be objected that some credit
should have been allowed to Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman in
view of the fact that a sum of L41,807,400 was voted in
Committee of Supply in the House of Commons for military
requirements, practically without discussion, within four and
a half hours on June 19th, 1900. This objection is answered
by the words used by the Duke of Devonshire on the same day:
"I am afraid I must tell Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman that he
is not likely to receive from us any recognition, either
effusive or otherwise, of the patriotism of his party. It is
quite true that, as he took credit to himself and his
friends, they have not offered any opposition to our demands
for supplies or to the military measures which it has been