the funds until authorized by a decree from the Tribunal of the Seine, has raised the prospect of further litigation, and postponed the likelihood of a settlement. It is possible that Parnellite and Anti-Parnellite may temporarily sink their differences to assist Mr. Gladstone when he introduces his bill; but harmony of votes does not mean harmony of sentiment, and the deep wound still rankling in the Irish heart may stubbornly refuse to be healed. "Not in our generation," said Mr. Redmond, the Parnellite leader, recently at Kilkenny, "will there come one strong enough to unite Irishmen as Parnell did; and until such an one come, England will pay but little attention to the demands for Home Rule." For all we know, the radiant bow of near promise may already be stretched across the sky; but such words as these show that, in the Parnellite heart at any rate, hope is at a low ebb.

In contested election cases, the decisions have so far gone against the Anti-Parnellites. The petition against the return of William Redmond, Parnellite M. P. for East Clare, based on alleged corruption, was dismissed with costs, December 12. But more important than this-in fact transcending in importance all other recent events in Irish politics-was the decision, announced November 30, in the case of the South Meath election petition. The issues were of the highest political and constitutional importance, for they revealed distinctly what in some cases the claims of the Irish Roman Catholic clergy in the political sphere may be, and the means by which those claims are enforced. In the contest last July, Mr. Patrick Fullam, an AntiParnellite, was elected by a majority of 83. The petition against his return. was based on three charges-bribery, physical intimidation, and spiritual intimidation. It was heard before Justices O'Brien and Andrews, the former a Roman Catholic, and both men of undoubted impartiality. The charge of bribery failed entirely; and that of physical intimidation was not sufficiently proved to justify a voiding of the election. Priestly intimidation was, however, proved; and, on this

sole ground, the election of Mr. Fullam was declared null and void. Under the lead of the Bishop of the diocese, Dr. Nulty, it was proved, Judge Andrews said in announcing the decision, that "The whole organization of the Church was thrown into the contest. Every priest was a canvasser. They canvassed everywhere-on the altar, at the houses, on the roads." A pastoral from the Bishop, ordered to be read in the churches just before the election, declared in purport that no intelligent or well-informed person could remain a Catholic and a Parnellite. The clergy preached in the same sense, and threatened with ecclesiastical penalties those who disobeyed their injunctions.

Were this South Meath case a mere isolated incident, it would be, the Unionists admit, of small importance; but they claim that it is only an example of a rule, that the methods of the Nationalist-Clerical Alliance throughout the country are practically the same; and they exultingly point to South Meath as a vindication of those claims upon which, as our readers know, they laid such stress during the election-that the Home Rule question is a religious question, and that the establishment of an Irish Parliament would be the setting up of clerical domination throughout the Green Isle. Whether these claims and fears are justified, or are merely the outcome of religious animosity and political excitement, time will reveal; and the truth will prevail.

Following the unseating of Mr. Fullam in South Meath, came that of Michael Davitt in North Meathon similar grounds, the decision being delivered by Justice O'Brien on the 23d of December.

As regards the social condition of the country, it must be noted that there has been a slight recrudescence of the elements of disorder. Several "moonlighting" outrages have been reported, as well as the formation of "vigilance committees" in various parts of the country for the purpose of boycotting obnoxious persons. And, even more serious than these, there has been, in one case at least, a return to the extreme arguments of the "phy

agitation a few years ago. The hope of a general amnesty for Daly and the other conspirators being again deferred, the outrage is by many-perhaps unjustifiably-attributed to the disappointment, as a sort of hint to the Irish Secretary that the advanced wing of the Nationalists will not be content with anything less than a general amnesty for all so-called political prisoners. Be that as it may, no one imagines that the responsible circles in either faction of the Irish Home Rule party had the slightest connection or sympathy with the outrage. Both are equally anxious to see the perpetrators brought to justice.

Lord Houghton, the new Viceroy, made his public entry into Dublin on October 3, being accorded a respectful, though not enthusiastic, greeting. He has caused considerable comment by refusing to receive an address of welcome from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, the Council of which consists mainly of Unionists. In it the statement was made that the "maintenance of the legislative union now existing between Ireland and Great Britain is essential to the prosperity of the trade and commerce of Ireland." As this, in the opinion of the Viceroy, was a matter of party controversy, he declined to receive the address. He subsequently accepted addresses from the Irish Rifle Association and the Belfast Corporation; and declared it to be his purpose to promote the growth of Irish industries and the development of Irish trade.

On Sunday, October 9, "Ivy Day," as it is now called, the anniversary of Mr. Parnell's death (October 6) was celebrated by an elaborate demonstration in Dublin, in which the participators wore ivy leaves as their distinctive political badge.

The Evicted Tenants' Commission.

The general course of the Administration in Ireland since the election has necessarily been much the same as it was under Mr. Balfour; nor have the hopes yet been fulfilled, that special forms of relief for evicted tenants would be devised. Those who persistently refuse to pay their rent are

still evicted, and the police are still used for the scattering of riotous and dangerous gatherings.

The Evicted Tenants' Commission, from which a good deal was expected (p. 242), has met and adjourned, having done practically nothing save to show the difficulty of doing anything. Its object, the reader will remember, was to examine and report with a view to indicating "what means should be adopted for bringing about settlements and the reinstatement of evicted tenants." The personnel of the Commission was announced October 14. The President, Sir James Mathew, is one of the ablest of the English Judges, an Irishman by birth, a Roman Catholic, and a Home Ruler. His colleagues were Mr. Edmund Murphy, Chief Receiver of the Land Court, the only Unionist on the Commission; Mr. Christopher Redington, a Roman Catholic, a landlord, and yet a Home Ruler, who had parted with much of his property under the Ashbourne Acts; Mr. John Roche, Q. C., one of the Directors of the Nationalist organ, the Freeman's Journal; and Mr. Murrough O'Brien, Chief Valuer of the Land Commission. The announcement of the organization of the Commission was immediately followed by a wave of adverse criticism. It was argued that the landlords were not represented on it; that the scope of its investigations was unduly narrowed by the exclusion of all consideration of the special causes leading up to the evictions; that the Commissioners ought to be required to administer the oath; and that landlords should be permitted to appear by counsel.

The first meeting was held on November 7, and proved a remarkable one. The proceedings were opened by an address from Sir James Mathew, which the Unionists denounce as an unseemly display of partisanship, and which made a strong attack upon Lord Clanricarde, who had refused to subject himself to the questioning of the Commission. It was into the condition of the tenants on this nobleman's estates that the first inquiry was made; and Mr. Carson, Q. C., who appeared for Lord Clanricarde, being denied by

Sir James Mathew the right of crossexamination, pronounced "the whole thing" to be "a farce and a sham," and withdrew, followed by the other counsel present. This incident was soon succeeded by the resignation of Mr. Murphy, on the ground, that, having "carefully considered the President's address and observations at the opening of the Commission, and the evidence since given," he had concluded that "for several reasons he could not further act on the Commission, especially as he believed the right to cross-examine witnesses was a necessity under the circumstances which had arisen." The resignation of Mr. Murrough O'Brien, on being appointed to a vacant post in the Land Purchase Department, was announced at the same time. With these defections, the Commission lost much of its distinctive character of importance; and, although it did not adjourn its session until December 23, Sir James Mathew then announcing that he would continue to receive statements from landlords and others up to the

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end of the year, the general impression is that its labors will accomplish but small results. Both Mr. Balfour and Lord Salisbury have vehemently criticised what they regard as the partisan character of the proceedings; while Mr. Morley, in reply, has declared that the Commission was "issued in the interests of social peace to heal a social wound."

THE DEATH OF TENNYSON.

Early on the morning of October 6, at Aldworth House, his romantic home near the little English village of Haslemere, Alfred Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, passed peacefully away. He had been ill but a few days, suffering from influenza, which finally reached an acute stage, being aggravated by gout complications.

His death has extinguished the most brilliant light in English literature; and, following close upon that of his friend Browning, has left a gap which there is at present none to fill. In the combined expression of exquisite beauty and profound thought, the

world has not seen his equal since Byron. He was above all the representative poet of the Victorian Period. He attained a fullness of years that linked us to the famous poets of the beginning of this century, but, to the last, his lamp burned with undimmed lustre. Eminently a poet of the feelings and affections, his name had long been, as it must ever remain, a symbol of all that is endearing to the human heart.

On Wednesday, October 12, with ceremonies most impressive in their grandeur and simplicity, his remains were laid to rest in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, the most venerable of English shrines. The assemblage within the cathedral was strikingly representative of the whole English-speaking race, and of every phase and walk of life. The Sovereign and leading members of the Royal Family had their official representatives present, and sent tributes of affection and regret. The absence of the Prince of Wales, who, it is said, attended the races at Newmarket on the same day, gave occasion for much comment in the Radical press. Mr. Gladstone also was absent, owing to the pressing cares of State and his own great age; but among the tributes was a beautiful wreath from Mrs. Gladstone. United States Minister Lincoln had been named as one of the pall-bearers; but, as he had sailed for America, Mr. Henry White, the acting Minister in his absence, took his place, and fittingly represented the Republic who shares no less deeply than England the common grief of the English-speaking world.

After the lesson, Tennyson's poem 'Crossing the Bar," set to music by Dr. Bridge, the organist of the Abbey, was chanted as an anthem. "The Silent Voices," the poet's last work, which had never been published, was also sung as a second anthem, to music composed by Lady Tennyson. The coffin, still wrapped in the Union Jack, the symbol of the Empire he loved so dearly, was then carried to the grave, which had been dug between those of Browning and Dryden, close to the tomb of Chaucer. After the committal service, read by the Dean

of Westminster, the choir sang the beautiful Trinity hymn, and the chief mourners moved away. Crowds who had patiently waited outside during the rites, to show their affectionate veneration for the dead, now flocked in; and, until evening came on, and the portals of the Abbey were closed, the long procession continued to pass slowly by and gaze upon the grave.

The difficulty of suggesting a perfectly suitable successor to Tennyson in the Laureateship, has led a good many people to think that it would be best to abolish the office. In the elaborate discussions of the matter which have recently filled the press, the names of several possibilities are brought forward by admirers. Algernon Swinburne seems to be generally admitted as the one who soars nearest to the height of Tennyson's genius; but, owing to his "Poems and Ballads" (1866), his "Songs Before Sunrise" (1871), glorifying Pantheism and Republicanism, and his publication of a poem in 1890, in which he may be said to incite the Nihilists to fresh attempts against the Czar, it is possible that Philistinism will bear against his appointment. The genius of William Morris as a recounter of tales, makes him a kind of modern Chaucer; but he is a Socialist and a reformer, and might not accept the Laureateship even were it offered him. The names of Lewis Morris, Sir Theodore Martin, Sir Edwin Arnold, Coventry Patmore, Alfred Austin, Robert Buchanan, William Watson, Austin Dobson, and others, have also been put forward. Lewis Morris is said to be favored by Mr. Gladstone; and Sir Theodore Martin by the Queen. Mr. Lewis Morris also stands high in Court favor, as does Robert Buchanan; and Mr. Watson's work, notably his "Lachrymæ Musarum," a magnificent elegy upon Tennyson, is said to be greatly admired by Mr. Gladstone. This young poet has, however, very recently lost his reason, and is removed from the possibility of appointment. The merits and defects of these and other candidates are still being discussed; and the whole question of the succession to the Laureateship, for the present, remains open.