Welsh Journals

to a greater or lesser extent, sympathetic to the war; some, such as Ellis Griffith (Anglesey), Sir David Brynmor Jones (Swansea District) and J. Lloyd Morgan (West Carmarthen) adopted a ve- hemently imperialistic position. Of the thirty-two Liberal candidates in Wales in the 1900 'khaki election', only five were outright opponents of the War; one of these, the son of John Bright, was defeated at the polls. Equally, much of activist constituency opinion seems to have been largely in sympathy with the war, especially in industrial south Wales and the coastal ports, where it could be political suicide to stand out against the tide of war. Robert Bird in Cardiff was but one prospective candidate dropped by his local Liberal Association because of his 'pro-Boer' views.9 Prominent south Wales nonconformists like the Rev. Thomas Johns of Capel Als, Llanelli (editor of the children's magazine, Tywysydd y Plant), spoke out strongly on behalf of the war and in favour of the superior qualities of civilization of the British race.10 Even in rural Wales, predominantly Welsh-speaking, a nationalistic journalist like Beriah Gwynfe Evans could write strongly in support of the war while deploring the excesses of war fever." Herbert Lewis lamented the 'utter jingoism' amongst his own Liberal supporters in Flintshire in early 1900,12 while Lloyd George required all his reserves of moral courage to withstand verbal, and sometimes physical, assault from his constituents in Caernarfon Boroughs.13 Nor was the opinion of the Welsh people-at least, that fifty-five per cent of males who possessed the vote--clearly hostile to the war at first. The Liberal gains in the 'khaki election' were not the product of anti-war sentiment at all. Indeed, the Liberal candidates in two of the four seats gained, Sir Edward Reed in Cardiff and Alfred Davies in Carmarthen Boroughs, were imperialists of extreme fervour. In general, a strongly pro-Boer attitude was thought by most Liberals to be an electoral liability at this time. They preferred rather to deflect interest away from the war, if they could, and to stress the grand old causes of church disestablishment, elementary education and land reform. On balance, these themes figured more decisively in winning election victories for the Liberals than did the cause of specific opposition to the Boer War, let alone absolute pacifism. In any case, the seats won back were ripe for recapture after the quite unusual swing to the Unionists in the previous general election in Western Mail, 22 August 1900. Cardiff Times, 7 July 1900. 11 Y Genedl Gymreig, 18 Medi 1900. 1. J. Herbert Lewis to Owen Williams, 20 July 1900 (Nat. Lib. of Wales, Penucha MSS.). u D. Lloyd George to J. Herbert Lewis, 13 April 1900 (ibid.).