The Review of Reviews

POLITICAL WOMEN IN ENGLAND.

To the first December number of the Revue de Paris M. Ostrogorski contributes an amusing paper on "Political Women in England." In our happy country we are assured that women possess, thanks to their organisation, a means of political influence which is possessed by the sex in no other country, and this although the British Constitution holds women at arm's 1.ngth. There is no real reason to believe that women had a parliamentary franchise in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries-indeed, when we come to the eighteenth century it is incidentally stated in a judgment of the Court of Queen's Bench that women have not the right of voting because the choice of a member of Parliament demands a developed intelligence which women are not thought to possess. The French Revolution found its imitators on this side of the Channel who formed popular societies, after the fashion of the Paris clubs; these were really secret societies composed principally of the working class, and women were admitted to all the privileges of membership. The Female Reform Society of Blackburn spread throughout the manufacturing districts, and the women were invited to found affiliated societies in order to aid the men in their political action, and also to inoculate in their children a profound hatred for their tyrannical governors.

At the great meeting at Manchester in 1819, which resulted in the Manchester massacre, two Female Clubs attended with a banner of white silk. In the agitation which led to the great Reform Bill women played a certain part, and it is amusing to read now-a-days a manifesto which the Tories of Norwich addressed to the ladies of the city, urging them to use their influence against the Bill. The terms of this document will hardly bear repetition now-a-days, although it is quoted in Mr. Holyoake's "Sixty Years of an Agitator's Life." The women of the aristocracy and of the middle class did not take much interest in politics until comparatively lately, although there are some notable examples of the ability of the sex in the important work of canvassing; and M. Ostrogorski of course brings up again the fine old story of the Duchess of Devonshire giving a kiss to a butcher. Cobden's Anti-Corn Law League, although it took full advantage of women's work in organisation, yet did not permit them to appear in public except at the dinners and teas of the League.

The General Election of 1868 was the first in which women took a really important part. Women began to speak in public meetings, partly to plead for Woman Suffrage and partly in the interests of their party candidates. Women next obtained the right to vote in municipal and school board elections; and the great Liberal victory of 1880 was to a considerable extent due to the efforts of women, though the Tories also had their regiments of electoral Amazons. M. Ostrogorski does full justice to the part played by Lord Randolph Churchill in organizing Tory democracy; to him principally is due that wonderful incarnation of mingled sentiment and snobbery, the Primrose League. It is to the inclusion of women that M. Ostrogorski attributes the astounding success of the League, and the marvellously rapid increase of its membership. Of course he is not deceived by the League's affectation of independence of party politics; he sees clearly enough that it is really identical with the Tory party-in fact, it is quite wonderful how accurately this foreign observer has estimated the peculiar strength of the League, its social influence, the value of all its frippery of badges and decorations, and the subtle boycotting which it

practises. Its success, however, as he explains, varies very much in different districts. As a general rule it prospers most in rural districts and in the poorest quarters of the towns. The Liberals, it must be admitted, have not achieved so great a practical success with the Women's Liberal Associations, although these have done yeoman service to the cause. The members are chiefly the wives of working men, directed by a number of women of the middle class, and a few great ladies. M. Ostrogorski thinks that the Liberal women display far more political earnestness than their sisters of the Primrose League; certainly their teas and conversaziones do not boast of that music-hall element which renders the réunions of the Primrose League so popular.

M. Ostrogorski passes on to deal with the Woman Suffrage movement, and he shows how Mr. Gladstone's opposition to this reform caused a great split in the Federation. This question of Woman Suffrage is not the only one, however, which separates Liberal womenindeed, this foreign observer is quite shocked at some of the topics which are urged by the Women's Liberal Federation. M. Ostrogorski heard the ungallant opinion frequently expressed both by Conservatives and by Radicals that there is no good in women electioneering; this criticism being based apparently on a certain lack of tact on the part of some ardent political women who do not always pay respect to the provisions of the Corrupt Practices Act.

Two Impressions of Mr. Chamberlain as a Youth.

MISS J. T. STODDART, in a recent Woman at Home, begins a new Life of Mr. Chamberlain. There is not much new in what she says, but in two passages she throws a little fresh light upon the youthful Joseph. The following is the description of him given by Mr. Solly, the pastor of the church in Carter Lane, habitually attended by the Chamberlain family

One afternoon a young gentleman of clever and resolute aspect came up to our office and introduced himself as Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, the son of my old and highly-valued friend, Mr. Chamberlain, at whose house I had often had so kind a welcome while minister at Carter Lane Chapel, This young man (then a teacher in our Sunday school there) was now a partner in the marvellously successful firm of Nettlefold and Chamberlain, patent screw manufacturers, at Small Heath, Birmingham. He told me that he was desirous of establishing a club at Small Heath for the benefit of his workmen, and would be glad if I could come down and help him start it. This, of course, I willingly did, spoke to a good meeting, saw the capital club-house he had built, had most hospitable entertainment at his house in Edgbaston, and returned to London, full of hope for the club's having a long and prosperous career before it.

At school he appears to have had his share of prizes, and to have been especially distinguished for applied mathematics. Concerning his time at University College School, Miss Stoddart says:—

Rumour has it that Mr. Chamberlain was not very popular amongst his companions, and some of the legends of his schooldays are a trifle malicious. On one occasion, when Dr. Key, the headmaster, was called out to see a visitor, the boys amused themselves by tying Joseph Chamberlain to the iron stanchion in the middle of the class-room. When the master was heard returning, one active lad rushed out and, by knocking against him violently, gave his comrades a minute's grace for the untying of the prisoner. Another day the bigger lads rolled Joseph down the bank in the playground. Stories such as these still linger amongst the traditions of the school.

MILLET'S "ANGELUS,"

AND ITS VICISSITUDES.

IN the January number of the Temple Magazine, the Rev. James Johnston recounts some of the various vicissitudes of Millet's now world-famous " Angelus." will surely be news to a great many people to learn that the picture, instead of being in America, has its present abode in or near the French capital. Mr. Johnston's note may be quoted in extenso :—

The wanderings of Millet's noble and affecting picture are scarcely less romantic than the circumstances of its production, painted in the solemn loneliness of the Plain of Chailly, beside the immemorial oaks and beeches of Fontainebleau.

"The Angelus," which was painted in 1859, was originally sold by the artist for about £70 to M. Feydeau, and after passing through several hands, the price ever advancing as the fame of the picture grew, it was purchased by Mr. J. W. Wilson for £1,520.

At the Wilson sale in 1881 it became the property of M. Secrêtan, the French copper-king, who gave no less than £6,400 for it. But reverses compelled M. Secrêtan to part with the whole of his magnificent collection of art treasures, and once more "The Angelus" changed hands.

In July, 1889, the entire collection was brought to the hammer in Paris. M. Knoedler, on behalf of the Corcoram Art Gallery, New York, and M. Antonin Proust, who was supposed to hold a commission in the name of the French Government, were the chief competitors for Millet's masterpiece, and after an exciting and spirited bidding "The Angelus was knocked down amidst intense excitement to Mr. Proust for the immense sum of £23,000. This price included the Government commission of 5 per cent.

Subsequently, however, the French Chamber of Deputies refused to ratify Mr. Proust's purchase or to grant money to pay for the picture, and Millet's chef-d'œuvre was afterwards exhibited for a year in the United States.

At a later date the ultimate home of "The Angelus was uncertain, some declaring that it remained in New York, others that it was again on its native soil.

Proof is now forthcoming that it is at present not far away from the French capital.

M. Chaucard, the latest owner of the picture, paid for it, when it had been round the world and had found a temporary resting-place in the United States, something very like £32,000. It is worth noting that, according to a statement in connection with the recent art bequests of M. Ionides to South Kensington, London, it is by a mere accident the British nation does not now enter into possession of the immortal "Angelus," since M. Ionides could at one time have purchased Millet's work for the modest sum of £3,000, and very nearly did acquire it.

M. Chaucard, of the Magasins du Louvre, Paris, should be one of the happiest of art lovers, possessing, as he does, a worldrenowned collection of paintings, which he has lately removed from the Avenue Velasquez to his suburban residence at Longchamps, facing the Windmill. So highly does M. Chaucard cherish his artistic hobby that it is an inflexible rule with him never to sleep a night from under the roof that shelters his precious gallery.

It appears that on Sunday, October 21st, M. Loubet, the French President, went to lunch and saw the famous paintings, including the gem of the great French painter, and that on the same occasion the chief members of the Cabinet met M. Loubet at M. Chaucard's table.

This greatly increased the fame of M. Chaucard's gallery, and a day or two later it was visited by King George and his son, Prince Nicholas of Greece. Although M. Chaucard attends daily to his house of business in the city, and only dispenses hospitality on Sundays, he cordially made an exception for King George, who saw "L'Angelus "for the first time in the Chaucard collection.

What pathos there is in the fact that at the present moment the triumphs of Millet's brush are realising enormous prices, while the artist himself struggled against the pressure of poverty, for the most part all his life long.

"SMART" SOCIETY.

MRS. GERALD PAGET writes in the Imperial and Colonial Magazine for December on what she calls. "John Bull's Awakening" to the defects of " Society" :"Smart" Society, so says Mr. Arnold White in his seven letters, is seething with corruption. It is immoral. Maddened by its lust for gold, it sells its honour and the honour of its country to hybrid financiers. Favouritism is rampant, good manners and good breeding have vanished into space. Ladies, brainless apparently and without dignity, meddle with appointments abroad. Wealth, formerly an outlet for patriotism, is now used for the advancement of self-interest. Ladies of low morals are among the leading spirits of smart Society; failure stares us in the face; disaster, ruin, chaos will be the result. Dear, dear! How dreadful! No doubt they will be. Most probably all this is true. But why this shock of surprise? What is there in all this that has not been always more or less consciously swallowed by the public with perfect equanimity?

The writer is amused at, John Bull's uneasiness. She says "he will point with horror to certain historical periods which boasted their maitresses du roi and the rest, without perceiving that history is repeating itself at Yet his blindness and apathy are to the present day." blame. "As for the ladies with the morals of the pavement, they are too popular, it will be said, to justify a protest, and besides, they are charming to behold." She adds:

It would almost appear as if we were a decadent nation. But we are not. The heart of the country is sound enough. It is only the top that is rotten. Let us lop off the dead branches before the decay spreads deeper and kills the tree. Favouritism is no more peculiar to this period than to that. The power of courtesans, whether of high birth or low, is matter of history. All this is simply the history of Society repeating itself more or less violently. But whilst it has been disporting itself in much the same grooves, the national character, freed from the old stultifying conditions, has expanded and grown; and it is that which is encouraging. Society has got so low, they say. Not at all. It has simply remained stationary.

The writer rejoices in the outburst of loyalty to the late Queen as counteractive to the debasing worship of a debased' Society,'" and proceeds :—

It might almost be said of Her Majesty, as it is stated to have been said of the Duke of Norfolk, that she is not "in society." It is a permissible paradox at the present time. It would strain the powers of the most imaginative mind to picture our honoured Sovereign breathing an atmosphere of financial intrigue, vulgar display, discredited foreigners, uncertain gamblers, and casehardened pay-for-me ladies, which is, in truth, the atmosphere of "smart" Society to-day. It is not to the Queen's Court that Society speculators, returning unhinged from disastrous miscalculations, flock for sympathy and support.

The writer's conclusion is brief and decisive :There really seems nothing to be done for this Society but to bury it.

The

THE bi-centenary of the Prussian Monarchy, celebrated in January by the Kaiser at Königsberg, provides Mr. W. Miller in the January Gentleman's with the theme of an instructive historical sketch. story is told of the origin and development of the Hohenzollern dynasty from its emergence from Swabia in the middle of the twelfth century, through its elevation to the Electorship of Brandenburg in 1417, to the attainment of Prussian Kinghood in 1701, and German Empire in 1871. The writer recalls the curious fact that the Great Elector (1640-1688) founded African colonies on the Gold Goast and elsewhere, and began the nucleus of a navy !

THE MAFFIA-A SICILIAN TAMMANY. MOST people have no idea that the Maffia is other than a secret society, organised for the purpose of revenge and robbery. Mr. Richard Bagot has an interesting article in the National Review for February, which shows, however, that this definition is not altogether correct.

NOT A SECRET SOCIETY.

The Maffia, firstly, is not a secret society at all. It has no code of laws or formal organisation. It is, on the contrary, a natural outgrowth of society as it exists in Sicily. Each member of the society acts entirely in his own interests and on his own responsibility. The Maffioso is an individualist who scorns the law, and dispenses justice with his own hand. The obtaining of money by fraud and violence is only one of his objects. His main object

is to prevent, by fair means or foul, justice, as represented by the civil authorities, interfering with his acts; neither, will he tolerate such interference. His neighbour, whom he has perhaps wronged, and may not improbably kill, is the first to assist him in defeating the power of the law, for the simple reason that this neighbour is himself a Maffioso. If the latter be killed, his family will effectually screen the murderer from justice. Some member of it will, at the proper season, avenge the murder or the wrong in his or her own way. To seek reparation at the hands of the law, or not to throw every obstacle in the way of its action, would be contrary to the honour of a Maffioso.

THE JOY OF PRIVATE VENGEANCE.

Mr. Bagot relates a story of a mother whose son was murdered, but who refused to assist the authorities by naming the murderer. Shortly afterwards the murderer was found dead, the avenger being the murdered man's brother. Mr. Bagot says, in this connection, that maternal affection is one of the secret agencies of the Maffia. Sicilian mothers bring up their offspring to regard fraud, violence, and contempt for the law as virtues, and a Sicilian girl despises a lover who has not distinguished himself by some deed of lawlessness. The Sicilian woman will lick up the blood of a fallen enemy in a frenzy of ferocious delight.

POLITICAL TYRANNY.

The Maffia in political life is a sort of barbarian Tammany Hall. It controls the elections :

A politican's very colleagues who dined at his table would not hesitate to instruct some of their protégés among the bassa Maffia to remove him out of the way were his principles of honour and justice to clash at any time with their interests, or were their official relations with him likely to cause them to be badly looked upon by their fellow-Maffiosi. The alta Maffia exists in Sicily no less than the bassa Maffia, and protects and subsidises the latter in order to have a dependable instrument ready to hand to execute its orders and do its dirtier and more compromising work.

INDUSTRIAL BLACKMAIL.

The Maffia demands its share in every form of industry. If the victim refuses to pay blackmail he is ruined :

The farmer of a tenuta must pay to the Maffia a sum of money to ensure that the guardians of the water-supply shall give him the water to which he has the right. Refusal on his part to submit to this extortion means the cutting off of his irrigation, and the re-selling of it to some less obstinate neighbour. The withholding of the water for a few hours may, and probably does, ruin the farmer's prospects for the year. He must pay, or his crops must perish, and he himself fall a victim to a Sparatina fired from behind one of his own fences.

Mr. Bagot traces the Maffia to the Sicilian being a mixture of Asiatic and European races. The only way to destroy his criminal propensities is to educate the women of the race.

The cultivation of the olfactory nerve has already been frequently suggested, and if the expression be permissible, a 66 concert of smells at once opens up an infinite vista of future enjoyment. The necessary instrument which would "throw" the different odours into the hall, in succession or simultaneously, in obedience to a keyboard of the customary pattern, is easily conceived. As easily can we imagine a discord of, say, "garlic and boot-polish," or turpentine and rose-oil" dissolved in the enchanting harmony of "lemon-peel and Moselle-soaked woodruff," and the great pleasure to be derived therefrom. A melody of flower-scents in quick succession, accompanied by booming chords of vintage clarets and burgundies, would also be delightful. In fact, examples could be multiplied indefinitely.

But the writer does not think the project generally feasible.

THE "FEEL" OF CERTAIN FOODS.

Touch, on the other hand, is already highly developed, and offers an infinite variety of enjoyment. Though the sense is vested in every part of the body, it is most intimate with the brain in (1) the mouth (lips, palate, tongue, teeth), (2) the tips of the fingers, and (3) the sole of the foot. These three avenues of delight are treated separately. Much of the pleasure of eating is due to the touch as well as to the taste

notably in the case of the apple, where the action of biting contributes at least seventy-five per cent. of the joy in eating, and has endowed this fruit with an entirely undeserved fame for flavour. The meeting of the teeth in the juicy flesh of an apple in perfect condition communicates a thrill of ecstasy through the whole system which is unsurpassed by any other fruit.

THE THRILL THROUGH THE FINGER-TIPS.

The finger-tips are the most delicate and acute organs of touch, and consequently offer valuable springs of pleasure :

While the ordinary objects of daily life are the most obvious sources of gratification, there are many ways of obtaining a greater happiness in exploring nature for superior founts of inspiration. Thus it will be found that by gently moving the first finger forwards and backwards beneath the chin of a young child the most exquisite sensation of pleasure is received.

THE SENSITIVE FOOT.

Passing to the sole of the foot, this student of sense observes :

Considering the care we take in preventing contact with Mother Earth, this part of our body is extraordinarily impressionable a fact for which we must be duly grateful. There is no one of us who does not spend a great deal of time in walking, either from room to room, to and from office, or for exercise. Now the pleasure derived from the impression of texture on the sole of the foot will, when duly appreciated, do much towards refining that tedious and savage mode of progress known as walking, and, as such, should be assiduously cultivated.

The ideal place, however, for exercising will be a perfectly level plain, where there is no hill or valley that can possibly divert attention from the ground-texture. Such are to be found in the perfect tennis-lawn, the soft springy turf of the "breezy downs," and above all in a long stretch of hard wet sea-sand traversed by bare feet following the ebb tide. This will communicate to the whole system an ecstasy of healthy happiness worth many hundred miles of travel to attain.

Mr. Edmund Robertson, K.C., has a detailed article on the Civil List. It does not contain anything to show Mr. Robertson's views as to what will be done when Parliament considers the question, and indeed almost the only suggestion it contains is that it would be better if the House of Commons abandoned the system of classifying the Civil List annuity, and allowed the King to spend his household allowance as he pleases. Mr. Robertson shows very plainly that the theory that the surrendered Crown lands are the private property of the sovereign, and that the surrender is a national bargain with the sovereign, is unfounded. Indeed an Act as old as Queen Anne specifically restrained the sovereign from alienating any of the Crown lands.

AN IMPERIAL CIVIL SERVICE.

Professor E. E. Morris deals with the suggestion that facilities should be granted to Colonials to enter the Indian and Imperial Civil Service. At present, of course, Colonial candidates can compete, but if they wish to do so they must come to London at their own expense. The reform now suggested is that simultaneous examinations should be held in London and in the Colonies. The Colonials do not wish to share in the local British Civil Service, for such a proposal would lead to a demand for reciprocity. Mr. Morris has no difficulty in showing that the scheme is practicable, and he answers various objections which have been made to it.

EUROPE THROUGH AMERICAN EYES.

Mr. P. A. Bruce contributes a rather interesting paper of " American Impressions of Europe," which I should be glad to quote at length did space permit. Mr. Bruce deals first with London. Like most observers, he is struck first of all by the enormous difference between the West End and the poor parts of the City-a difference which he does not even think is paralleled in New York. But on the whole London pleases him, and he thinks it in every way superior to Paris; even the shops being finer and the streets cleaner. He thinks that an elevated railway running over the tops of the houses is the most practicable way of solving the congestion problem, and adds, what we are beginning to learn from other quarters, that enterprising Americans see immense possibilities of gain in the great traffic. He has a high opinion of English journalism, which shows that his visit to this country was prior to October, 1899.

THE PROVINCIAL THEATRE.

Mr. Henry Arthur Jones contributes the fruit of thirty years' observation of the "Drama in the English Provinces." But the leading feature of provincial amusements is not so much the drama as the music-hall :

The chief thing to take into account is the recent erection

everywhere of huge music-halls, which have everywhere gained popularity and pecuniary success as the theatres have declined. Many of the performers at the music-halls are the same who appear in pantomime and musical comedies; and while the more popular entertainments at the theatres have gradually become more and more like the entertainments at a music-hall, the entertainments at the music-hall have included short sketches, plays, and duologues, and in this respect have made approaches towards the drama.

Mr. Jones regards the confusion between the legitimate drama and the merely popular amusement as the chief danger to the former, and thinks that there should be a formal distinction between the two.

THE WESTMINSTER REVIEW.

THE Westminster Review for March contains articles dealing with Army Reform, and with Army Nursing, both of which I have mentioned among the leading articles. There is also a short article on 66 Our Defenceless Navy." One of the longest articles is entitled "Chamberlainia." It is by Mr. W. F. Brand, who describes himself as a "former foreign friend," but it does not deal with Mr. Chamberlain, personally, but only with his war, which the writer denounces vigorously. His article, however, is only a summary of well-worn arguments against the war, but it is interesting to note that he regards our much-professed contempt for foreign opinion as a pose, for when foreign opinion is on our side we are glad enough to quote it. Mr. W. J. Corbet asks "Can a War of Aggression be justified?" and, as might be expected from him, answers decidedly, no. He makes a rather interesting parallel between the ruffianism of our generals in South Africa and that of their predecessors in Ireland, pointing out that precisely the same methods were used in both, burning and starvation being the chief instru

ments.

THE NICARAGUA CANAL.

Mr. J. G. Leigh writes on "The United States and Europe." He is quite sure that the "open door" principle ought to be observed in making the canal, and thinks that British and European interests are common on this point as against the United States which threaten the principle. He suggests that we should initiate negotiations such as resulted in the Constantinople Treaty of 1888. He does not think that if the Americans. were properly approached they would resist the embodiment of the Open Door principle in a treaty.

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY QUESTION.

Mr. Dudley S. A. Cosby writes in favour of the Catholic claim, but he thinks pledges should be exacted from the Irish clergy against clerical interference with the institution. He thinks that the Roman Catholics in Ireland should themselves insist upon having their higher education removed from the control of the priests.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

"Ideals in Architecture" is the title of a very interesting but rather abstract paper by Mr. G. F. Bodley, who lays down a great many principles by the observance of which our architecture would be improved. What we want are refinement of design, concentration of ornament, symmetry, economy of material, contrast, the avoidance of extravagance, the true use of colour, and above all a return to the designs of the past. He quotes Sir Joshua Reynolds to show that even the inventiveness of architects is increased by a study of past designs.

THE BRAND NEW EMPIRE.

Mr. A. W. Jose writes rhetorically on "The Empire that Found Itself." He protests against parochialism in politics, of which however he evidently foresees little danger in the future, for we have awakened to the greatness and reality of the Empire. Of course, Mr. Jose is quite confident that all this is due to the South African War, which has revealed to us our greatness and reality. It is a moot point, however, whether it would not be better to be great and real without knowing it, as, according to Mr. Jose's school of Imperialist, we were before the war. In that case we might talk less about it.

MOROCCO.

Mr. H. E. M. Stutfield writes on Morocco. I have only space to quote from the conclusion of his article, in which he sums up the position of the country :

With France massing troops within his south-eastern borders and other European Powers for ever urging their varied claims, the young Sultan's position is a very difficult one. Internally, to judge from advices received since the foregoing pages were written, things are going from bad to worse. His subjects, incensed at what they deem their Sovereign's weakness in yielding to foreign aggression, are in open or suppressed revolt, while it almost looks as though the Moorish ship of State, bereft to Ba Hamed's strong guiding hand, were drifting rudderless on to the rocks. The powerful tribes near Fez have again rebelled against their kaids, but the Commander of the Faithful dare not leave his palace in Marakesh to subdue them. Is the sick man really dying this time? Very probably he will make another of those surprising recoveries which have so often in the past baffled the most expert calculations.

RUSSIA AND ENGLAND.

Sir Rowland Blennerhassett contributes an article on the subject of the relations between Russia and England. Sir Rowland is a sensible man, and realises that nothing could be more foolish than to continue the antagonism to Russia which dates from the Crimean War. The Crimean War itself, he points out, arose from something which is almost indistinguishable from an act of gross bad faith

on the part of the English Government, to which I may return hereafter. His advice that we should reoccupy Kandahar and begin again the dreary round of Afghan wars will not commend itself to the judgment of those who agree with his major premise, which is that Russia should be a friend and not a foe.

Books

The Review of Reviews, Volume 23