stranded ship with a torpedo, but that hardly counts. Thirdly, the big guns seem to have counted for comparatively little; the battle was decided by shells at long range and the hail of the quick-firing guns. Fourthly, the ram seems to have counted for as little as the torpedo. Fifthly, seamanship, skill, courage, and all the old fighting qualities which were decisive when the Empire of the Sea was won by Nelson's hearts of oak, are as valuable as ever. Sixthly and lastly, success in naval warfare in future will depend as much upon the rapidity with which injured ships can be refitted as upon the weight of their armament or the horsepower of their, engines. On the whole, this tends to reassure John Bull. If men still count in this era of machines, he thinks he will have the best of it, and when it comes to refitting he has got three docks and coaling-stations for the enemy's one.

Sea Power

increased income tax, must feel somewhat more comfortable in reflecting that the increased expenditure means increased security, and that Lord Rosebery's naval programme, though costly, will nevertheless ensure our country that command of the seas which is the fundamental condition of our Imperial existence. For the rest, while we may be willing to tender our friendly offices whenever there is a chance of a peaceful mediation, we shall preserve a strict neutrality, refusing to be involved in the fray, but strengthening our forces on the spot for the defence of Our interests and the protection of our subjects. For no one can foresee what may happen in the immediate future now that the second seal has been broken and War has ridden forth on his

The practical moral for us is that the in Power that commands the sea commands History. everything. The successes of the Japanese afford new and striking illustrations of what Captain Mahan calls the decisive influence of sea power in history. The Power that rules the sea rules the world. Hence, most Englishmen, however much they may have groaned under the

Larghetto (MM J = 70)

p

dimin.

to expect that any outstanding dispute with any of our neighbours will lead to such an issue. An anonymous writer in the Deutsche Revue who asks the question, "Is a great war in prospect?" says that he fears it is owing to the chance that France will court a collision with England. He "No says, war would be so popular in France as one with England, especially as there are good reasons for entertaining a hope of victory." Now while no one can deny that the French are ugly" just now, being apparently bent upon "trying it on " all round the world as if to see how much we can stand, it is a mistake to think that war with England would be popular in France. Wars which have to be made by the whole armed manhood of a nation are never popular, and such wars are not made on a mere chance of victory. France may drift into war from giving too loose a rein to her adventurous Chauvinists, but she will never deliberately plunge into it on the chance, while Germany is on her left flank, and when the issue of the struggle would depend upon the result of naval war. France may desire to be revenged for Waterloo, but she never forgets Trafalgar.

The Journalist

as

Firebrand.

The publication of such articles as this in the Deutsche Revue can hardly be too severely condemned. It is unfortunate that while statesmen and sovereigns have tardily learned the urgent necessity of refraining from hurling live coals into the powder magazine, newspaper editors have so little sense of their responsibility for keeping the peace. There is still too much reason in the bitter jest of General von Schweinitz when he replied to my question as to the best means of maintaining peace, by prescribing the immediate gagging of half-a-dozen prominent journalists. M. Kalnoky last month spoke seriously in the same sense, He said :

There is not a single Government in Europe which does not endeavour to dispose of disturbing symptoms as soon as they make their appearance. Notwithstanding all due regard for the Press, I cannot conceal the fact that the worst of these symptoms which are conjured up in connection with altogether unimportant incidents are to be attributed to the sensational and often mischievous manner in which the nerves of the newspaper-reading public have been played upon. It were desirable that the peace congresses should turn their attention to this circumstance.

M. Kalnoky's suggestion may be commended to the Peace Society. A mission for the conversion of the journalist might not be successful, but there is no doubt that it is very much needed.

The Con

Contrast, for instance, the language of quest of M. Casimir Perier, whose admirable Madagascar. speech at Chateaudun is full of " consciousness of his duties and of his moral responsibility," with the irresponsible intemperate diatribes even of so weighty and usually serious a newspaper as the Temps, which, by way of contributing to international amenity and the peace of the world, has been denouncing the English as wolves, the common enemies of the human race. This outburst was prompted by the fear that we might embarrass them in their latest campaign of conquest. France has just despatched a mission to the capital of Madagascar, with an ultimatum which practically demands the conversion of the island into a French dependency. The Hovas, although wretchedly poor, are not without pride, and it is probable the French will have to back up their mission of the autumn, by an expedition in the spring. This will cost money and the lives of many men, and by way of reconciling the French to the sacrifice the Temps gets up steam against the English wolves, who at present certainly seem to be behaving in a most lamblike fashion, not merely in Madagascar, but in Siam, in China and in Africa.

The Reduc

Lord Kimberley has declined to receive tion of a deputation from the Arbitration AlliArmaments. ance in support of their memorial for the reduction of armaments, the moment not being propitious. But the memorialists may console themselves by the statement of the Russian Minister of Finance, M. de Witte, who, in the course of an interview at Vienna, expressed himself strongly in favour of the reduction of armaments, thereby undoubtedly giving public utterance to the well-known desire of the Tzar. M. de Witte's words, which Lord Kimberley might have echoed with advantage, were thus reported :

It is to be regretted that the increase of armaments is still going on, despite the agreement on the part of the three most powerful sovereigns to maintain peace. Every new effort a State may make in this respect compels other States to go and do likewise, and the result is that the relations between the forces of the respective powers remain as they were, while the general strength is fruitlessly exhausted. The impulse to the increase of the armaments did not emanate from Russia; but she cannot avoid following the imperative example of other States. What a blessing it would be for all States if they could save half that expenditure.”

One half! Why, to save even ten per cent. would be a boon that could be felt in every cottage in Europe.

Bulgarian Unrest.

The storm centre of the continent of Europe, like that of the continent of Asia, lies in the East. There are signs that the long dead calm that has prevailed in Bulgaria is ending. The Bulgarian elections have resulted in the election of a majority of advocates of the so-called Russian policy. Prince Ferdinand, whose Ministers are prosecuting M. Stambuloff for speaking disrespectfully of his sovereign, is anxious for a reconciliation with the Tzar. His position is illegal. He was not elected either in accordance with the Bulgarian Constitution or the Treaty of Berlin. To secure Russia's recognition he must first vacate the throne, and then be elected to it again by the vote of a freely elected Bulgarian Assembly. As Prince Ferdinand is not prepared to play double or quits, the question remains where it has been. Russia's policy, as M. de Giers defined it to me when I was in St. Petersburg in 1887, was a policy of peace and patience. "How long will your patience last?" I asked. "It will last longer than the Coburger," was M. de Giers' reply; and, judging from present symptoms, M. de Giers was right.

The Kaiser

M. de Witte, in the interview referred and his to above, remarked that for eleven years Nobles. the Tzar had never made a speech about war, nor had he even alluded to the possibility of war. During the last six years war would have broken out on more than one occasion but for his intervention. This is certainly a case where speech is silvern but silence golden. His young relative, the shouting Kaiser, who for some months past appeared to have been converted to a belief in that Carlylean maxim, has relapsed. He has made two serious and somewhat sensational speeches, both of which, however, related more to domestic than to foreign enemies. At Königsburg, on September 6, he launched a kind of torpedo-speech at the East Prussian nobility, who have of late been agitating more vigorously than the Kaiser liked against his policy. The agrarian opponents of Count Caprivil were eloquently reminded that behind the Chancellor was their King, and that noblesse cbl'ge should imply an obligation to oppose their sovereign who represents the Monarchy by right Divine. "How often," soliloquised the Kaiser, "have my ancestors been compelled to withstand the misguided members of a single class for the good of the whole community!" No doubt; that is the true function of kings, although too often they support the misguided class against the whole community. The Emperor,

however, splendidly confident in his right Divine, which seems to carry with it an infallible discernment of what is good for the whole community, concluded his speech as follows:

Now, gentlemen, my summons goes forth to you :-" Up and fight for religion, for morality, and for order against the parties of revolution." As the ivy twines itself round the gnarled stem of the oak, adorning it with its foliage and protecting it when storms roar through its branches, so must the ranks of the Prussian nobility close up round my house. May it, and with it the whole nobility of German stock, be a shining example for those sections of the people which still hang back. Let it be so; let us march together to this struggle. Forward, with the help of God, and lost to honour be he who deserts his King.

The Uneasiness of Authority.

No one exactly knows against whom they are to fight. Only one thing is clear, they are not to fight against Imperial and Royal Me. A similar message of veiled menace was addressed to the Poles a few days later, and that also has produced sputterings of disclaimer. People are asking whether the Emperor means to begin a new period of repression. It is not likely. Rulers everywhere feel their position and their authority threatened, and they naturally attempt to rally all the rallyable forces of society to their support. Of this tendency a very curious illustration was afforded last month by Signor Crispi. Of all the statesmen in Europe, Signor Crispi was about the last to be suspected of an alliance with Heaven. But misfortune makes strange bedfellows, and Crispi has startled his atheistic supporters by declaring with a loud voice his faith in God. Speaking at a recent banquet, Signor Crispi said :

Society is now passing through a painfully critical moment. To-day we feel more than ever the necessity for strengthening the civil authority. An infamous sect has come out of the blackest caves of the earth and has written on its flags, "Neither God nor leader." Let us who are united to-day by a common sentiment close our ranks and fight this monster. Let us inscribe on our banner, "With God, with King, for the Fatherland.”

Such utterances from such men give new point to the saying of the irreverent Frenchman that "if the Supreme Being did not exist it really would be necessary to invent Him." It is said that Signor Crispi being a Freemason must believe in the Architect of the universe; but Freemasonry in Italy at all events has been popularly believed to be anything but identical with Theism.

of nearly a whole month. Fagged and jaded statesmen have been recruiting their exhausted energies on mountain and on moor, obstinately turning a deaf ear to the syrens who would lure them to the platform or the banqueting hall. Lord Losebery, who accepted the freedom of the City of Inverness and opened an exhibition of Highland industries, was almost the only voice to break the silence. What he said was not calculated to disturb the Olympian calm of our momentary mood. He eulogised the spirit in

He

politics which recognises that all opponents are not necessarily the spawn of the Evil One, and, speaking within rifleshot of Culloden, drew a hopeful augury for Ireland from the fact that the victors and vanquished of 1745-notwithstanding all Cumberland's butcheries-now live together in indissoluble bonds of mutual respect and mutual love. refrained from touching upon questions of controversy, but it is only too obvious wherein the historical parallel fails. The Irish have no Bannockburn with which to console themselves for the bitter memory of innumerable Cullodens, and the Scotch have lived up to their national motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit," in a fashion which has made us grant them that virtual Home Rule from which their prosperity and contentment spring.

The Liberal Leader.

In default of other subjects to discuss, Lord Rosebery himself has formed the chief topic of such political controversy as has managed to keep itself agoing in September. The Speaker, surely in the absence of Sir T. Wemyss Reid, emitted a melancholy bleat for leadership, and editors, at a loss for topics for leaders, found the subject handy. "Lead us, in the name of Heaven lead us; somewhere-somehow-some time-only lead us!" the underlying assumption being of course that Lord Rosebery is not leading, and great is the chuckling among the enemy. But a moment's reflection might have taught the clamourers for more dashing leadership that the political situation is not exactly fitted for the display of the qualities they sigh for. When battles are won by counting noses, and you have only twenty more to count than your enemy, the first duty of a leader is to keep his noses together. It would, for instance, have been easy enough for Lord Rosebery to lead heroically in any given direction; but if a dozen of his party had gone over to the enemy, he would simply have led his followers into a ditch. Lord Rosebery is the elected chief of a congeries of allied groups, the defection of any one of which is sufficient to ensure defeat. What, then, can he do but walk warily,

pick his way carefully, and refuse to go a single step further than he can carry his followers? To drive a fire-engine at full gallop down the Strand is magnificent, and if you have a bell that can clear the way, it is easy enough; but if you are driving a heavy omnibus, and the street is full of costers' barrows and donkey-carts, what can you do but crawl along as best you can? And that surely is just what Lord Rosebery is doing.

The Liberal Tandem.

The impatient clamourers for more definite leadership remind one of nothing so much as of passengers who will insist upon the driver flogging the horse in the shafts without inquiring how his leader will behave. Nothing is more certain that, if Lord Rosebery were to take some of the advice pressed upon him, the leading horse in the team would turn round and look at him, absolutely refusing to stir. The objurgations of the passengers may be ignored. They may upset the coach; they can certainly not expedite its progress. Lord Rosebery has exhibited the qualities indispensable to any one in his position. He has been full of tact; he has impressed every one by his suave, sagacious management, and he has rigorously suppressed himself. No Prime Minister ever kept a Cabinet together more skilfully under greater difficulties, and that surely is no mean achievement. That he did not at the same time display the heroic dash of Henry of Navarre at the battle of Ivry is not to be wondered at. To have attempted the white plume description of leadership might have been magnificent, but it would simply have been suicide. But let not those who deride Lord Rosebery as a mere opportunist reckon without their host. Lord Rosebery does not wear his heart upon his sleeve, nor does his inner enthusiasm reveal itself to the man in the street. But the volcano is not the less of a volcano because it is not always in eruption, and when the time comes for leadership of another order, Lord Rosebery will not be wanting.

The Latest

An instructive but disagreeable incident Shindy has occurred in Ireland which has given in Ireland. occasion to much merriment among the profane, and many searchings of heart among the faithful. The representatives of the Irish Parliamentary party finding that their treasury was running dry sought to replenish it by the simple expedient of issuing a circular to all sympathisers and friends. In response to this circular, which seems to have been sent round to all prominent Home Rulers, Mr. Gladstone and Lord Tweedmouth each sent a cheque for £100. Instantly Mr. Healy,

who is never so happy as when he can play the part of Marplot, raised the cry that the Irish Parliamentary party was betraying its independence for Saxon gold. Not a patriot raised a protest when Mr. Parnell accepted £10,000 from Mr. Rhodes, who is an Imperialist to his finger-tips; but even the £200 accepted from Mr. Gladstone and Lord Tweedmouth is scouted as a betrayal of the citadel of Irish independence. It is a pretty storm in a tea-cup, but one which brings into clear relief the two fundamental factors of the situation; first, that the Irish Parliamentary party is at its wits' end for money; and, secondly, that until Mr. Healy is saddled with the responsibility of leadership, he can be relied upon to employ all his mischievous ingenuity in rendering any other leadership impossible. The only result of the incident will be to make the Irish Parliamentary party more willing to demonstrate their independence in the division lobby than they would have been had the money been given sub rosa, or accepted without protest.

Hope at last Perhaps the most important domestic for Temper- event of last month was the publication ance Reform. of Mr. Gladstone's letter on the subject of a legislative remedy for intemperance. Writing to the Bishop of Chester, Mr. Gladstone threw a shell into the camp of the United Kingdom Alliance by declaring that "Local Option could be no more than a partial and occasional remedy, that a limitation of licenses regarded as a remedy for intemperance was an imposture, and that he had long been convinced that the selling of liquors for public profit alone afforded the sole chance of escape from the present miserable and almost contemptible predicament." To make matters worse, Mr. Gladstone wound up this declaration in favour of Gothenburgism by expressing his satisfaction with which he regarded the activity of Mr. Chamberlain in promoting this particular reform. For a moment Sir Wilfrid Lawson and his friends were inclined to blaspheme, but upon second thoughts they decided to put the best face possible upon Mr. Gladstone's declaration, and so to minimise his contemptuous reference to their favourite nostrum. The moment, therefore, seems eminently propitious for the summoning of a conference between the Gothenburgers on the one side and the Lawsonites on the other. Mr. Gladstone's letter expresses the opinion of the great mass of moderate practical reformers, and it will encourage them to insist upon having a voice in the question which has been handled in such a manner as to land the country in what Mr. Gladstone truly calls a miserable

and contemptible predicament. Such a conference, which need not be a public one in the first instance, should endeavour to establish a modus vivendi between Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Wilfrid Lawson. If such an agreement could be established, something might be done; if not, the publican will remain in the future as he has been in the past-the master of the situation.

Counsels of Perfection

and Otherwise.

Another section of the Liberal party has been considerably exercising the mind of its allies in the past month. The Trades Union Congress, which met at Norwich at the beginning of September, passed a resolution in favour of the nationalisation of the land, and the whole means of production and exchange. This resolution was carried, on a division, by 219 to 61, figures which show a remarkable growth in socialistic feeling among the aristocrats of labour. Some of the wisest and most experienced of the Trades Unionists voted in the minority, and there has been considerable shaking of heads over the triumph of Mr. Keir Hardie. The edge, however, was taken off the significance of the vote by the acceptance of another resolution, which declared that it should be made a penal offence for any employer to bring labour into the district where the existing supply was sufficient for that district. That is to say, if ten farm labourers struck for £5 a week wage in harvest time, and there are one hundred labourers in the next parish who are starving for want of work, a farmer should be sent to gaol if he engaged ten of these suffering men to save his

crops from ruin. A Congress which could gravely accept such a resolution could accept anything, and the vote on the preposterous proposal to give labour in any district absolute right to monopolise all the employment in that district to the exclusion of all other workmen outside its limits, discounted every subsequent resolution which the Congress passed. People would not have much faith in arithmetic if they found that its author began his exercise by stating that two and two make five, and that is pretty much what the Trades Union Congress did at Norwich when it accepted the resolution penalising the import of labour into a district regardless of any question as to the merits of the dispute which has rendered local labour unavailable for the work which needs to be done.

The Trend A curious correspondence was published last month between the Baroness Burdett

towards Industrial

Castes. Coutts and the Operative Painters. This also serves to illustrate the trend of the aspirations