Talks on Topics of the Day. 



241 



II.— WITH SIR ALBERT SPICER, M.P. 



When the Russian visit was over I had a pleasant 

 talk over the tea-table in the House of Commons with 

 Sir Albert Spicer, M.P., former president of the London 

 Chamber of Commerce, who was one of the twenty- 

 nine selected guests who had enjoyed the hospitality 

 of the Russians at St. Petersburg and Moscow. 



Sir Albert had enjoyed his visit. That, at least, was 

 i-bvious. So, he said, had all the other visitors. 

 They had had a royal time and an Imperial welcome. 

 ' liut what impressed me more than anything else," 

 <;: id Sir Albert, " was the universality of the enthusiasm 



huge mistake if the visit had not taken place ; and 

 from we ha\-e now seen, it would have been a great 

 disappointment to a large number of the Russian 

 people, including peasants, working men and students, 

 if we had not gone. Ever)^where and by e\erybody 

 our presence was hailed with evidence of the most 

 friendly feeling ; wherever the train stopped it was 

 the same. If it is said, ' Oh ! the reception was 

 engineered,' all I can say is that there was over- 

 whelming evidence from the receptions at all sorts of 

 places that such a thing was impossible." 



The English Visitors to Russia. 

 The parly were photographed in the Imperial l.il)rary, whete iliey weic atcmipariieil by the members of the Imperial Council. 



on the part of the pea.sants and the working men. 

 As I told the Kmpcror when he received our party at 

 I'sarskoe Selo, when we arrived at St. Petersburg I 

 thought by the crowd that was outside the station 

 that a General Election must be going on, and as if 

 the next step might be the dragging of our carriages 

 to our hotel." 



" Then- was some stupid protest before you left by 

 a disgruntled facti n wlio objected to your going to 

 Russia bf(ausr they disliked the [jolicy of the Russian 

 Government ? " 



" V'es — -yes ; 1 know," said Sir .Mbirl. " 1 was 

 written to and urged not to go, but I had no sym- 

 pathy with Ihcir views, and felt it would have been a 



'• What impressed you most ? " 



" What I have just told you. The sentiment of 

 friendliness, the desire to clasp hands with the nation 

 which stands for liberty and progress. After that I 

 was most impressed v.'ith the va.st. almost immeasur- 

 able material wealth ol that enormous Empire. Prom 

 the Hallic to Behrings Straits there stretches an 

 enormous expanse of territory, much of which, I 

 gathered, is still undeveloped." 



" Sir Robert Moricr," I observed, " used to say 

 th.it Siberia would be to the twentieth century what 

 the Western States of .America were to the nineteenth." 



■■ .\s to developing commercial relations. I had to 

 respond to the ("ommercc IliiiinT in St. Petersburg, 



