THE QUARTERLY REVIEW.
The main interest of the new Quarterly lies in its economic and financial articles. The writer of the able paper on the "Cost of Government," noticed by us elsewhere, takes a gloomy view of our national finance.—Another excellent paper is that by Mr. Inglis Palgrave on "Gold and the Banks." He shows that in recent years the supply of gold has enormoualy increased, and yet, contrary to all expectations, prices, instead of going up, have gone down. He explains the paradox on several grounds. In the first place, the increase has been so vast that its influence has been slower in coming into action. Again, the increased in- dustrial activity which followed the gold discoveries caused a great demand for money, and the increased supply of gold induced many countries which had previously no gold standard to establish one. Lastly, there was the demonetisation of silver, which made gold the main standard of value throughout most of the world. These influences, of course, are terminable, and in time the increase of gold will produce its normal effect on prices.—The paper on "The Congo Question" traces the history of the rise of that State, and deals with the Report recently presented on the subject to the King- of the Belgians. The writer admits the scandals of the administration, and does justice to the public-
spirited work of Mr. E. D. ; but he is inclined to acquit the King of any real complicity in the atrocities. He points out that all the early enterprises which led to the founding of the State were paid for out of King Leopold's private fortune, and it is
doubtful whether, with all the recent profits, his Majesty is not still out of pocket. He also argues that the surest guarantee for the future of the country is to make it less international and more Belgian, thereby centring the responsibility on one Government,— a suggestion we should have thought scarcely acceptable to most students of the question.—Of the other papers, we may mention a pleasant study of Hazlitt and Lamb, full of illuminating criticism, and an article on "The Unemployed and the Poor Law," which states very fairly the different solutions proposed and the special difficulties of each.
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