NEWS OF THE WEEK.

THE New York election for Mayor ended on Tuesday as all experienced Americans expected,—that is, in the victory of the corrupt party. Mr. Low, who defied both the political factions and promised honest administration, received only 149,873 votes, while Mr. Van Wyck, the representative of Tammany Hall, received 235,181, Mr. Tracy, the Re- publican nominee, who only stood in order to prevent Mr. Low from having a chance, obtaining 101,823. The immense majority, 85,308, for Mr. Van Wyck enthrones the " bosses " for four years, and as they will dispose of £15,000,000 a year, they will be able to organise an army of voters for future use. Mr. Van Wyck declares that he will protect good government and the innocent pleasures of the people ; but even if he is sincere, he will be powerless in the hands of those who have appointed him, and who intend to protect first of all their own authority. We have endeavoured elsewhere to explain the causes which have produced this deplorable result, and need only remark here that it will everywhere strengthen the hands of the opponents of liberty and self- government. It is nonsense to talk of the composite character of the constituency. They are all white men, and if a demo- cra,cy of white men in the most prosperous country in the world only succeeds in debasing and ruining itself, democracy is not, except under special circumstances, a trustworthy method of organising mankind. As in Rome in the year 1, so now when 1900 is so near it asks for bread and excitement, and not for any higher form of life.

The Times' correspondent believes that the election will greatly aid the Bryanite party in the Presidential election of 1900, as it will tempt the Democrats to ally themselves with the party of discontent. We are not quite sure of that, as the Bryanites are against corruption as well as against wealth, but it is certain that the Republican Administration is greatly shaken. They have nearly lost Ohio, Mr. McKinley's State, in the elections of this week ; they have entirely dis- appointed the workmen, who expected a rise of wages; their Tariff has not killed the deficit, which will amount to 29,000,000 sterling; and they are seen to be very ordinary people with feeble initiative. They must do something to recapture the popular imagination, and we have argued else- where that their probable course will be to compel Spain to declare war. The Spanish Ministry cannot decline a challenge for fear that the wounded pride of their people would lead to a revolt against the throne, and they are not disposed to decline one, because war is after all the easiest way out of the impasse. They can only lose their colonies, and as they begin dimly to perceive, they will lose them anyhow. A quarter of a million soldiers have failed to crush forty thousand insurgents, a proof in itself that something is utterly rotten somewhere.

The experts were far too gloomy in their calculations about the march to Tirah. They forgot, as theorists always do, the personal equation. Sir William Lockhart is that excessively valuable person in a State, a competent General, and he took the dreaded Sampagha Pass with a loss of only one officer killed, and twenty men, mostly wounded. He waited, in fact, regardless of the criticism of impatience, for his batteries and supplies, and then on October 29th moved forward with decision. A brigade cleared the hills east and west of the pass, the fire of the batteries was concentrated on the stone defences, and the Afridis, finding themselves out- generalled, retired in dismay. Two days' rest was allowed to the men, but on October 31st the Aragha Pass was carried, and the force descended into Tirah, a kind of clansmen's paradise, a valley twelve miles by six, full of stone towers, each held by an Afridi "family," in the large Asiatic sense of that word. From this point the moun- taineers will be slowly driven in great bands, hampered with women and children, into the unculturable hills, till they announce that they have had enough of it, and will be good children in future. The work will cost many lives, for the clansmen make dangerous little rushes at night upon our convoys, and an astonishing quantity of money—the Frontier War will cost seven millions at least—but there is no further risk of what Indian optimists characteristically describe as "a check."

Some day next week we shall hear the terms on which Sir William Loclihart has arranged with Government to insist. They must include the execution of the men responsible for murders, and a definite agreement to keep the passes clear tinder penalty of death; but they will include, we fear, an acknowledgment of the Queen's suzerainty, the disarmament of the Afridis and Orokzais, and the cession of Tirah. The suzerainty is all very well, though it is simpler to fight enemies than rebels; bat disarmament is practically im- possible, and what we want Tirah for, except to lock up two thousand men in a most pleasant cantonment, we cannot even guess. We have argued the matter elsewhere, but opinion will be in favour of severe terms, and we have but little hope of a wise though non-dramatic lenity. Suppose the tribes do rise again twenty years hence P Peace strengthens us, not them.

The Times' correspondent in Paris, a very acute though. rather cynical observer, has collected facts which induce him to believe that the General Election, which occurs early next year, will seat three hundred and twenty Ministerialists, or a clear and considerable majority of the Chamber. The Monarchists,' he says, have been broken up by the action of the Pope in withdrawing all clerical support, and by the most unexpected result of the law compelling candidates for the priesthood to pass through barracks. Instead of being corrupted, they have acquired a considerable and most beneficial influence among their comrades,—a curious testimony to the character of the French priesthood. The Monarchists of all kinds will therefore only number sixty, and the remainder of the Chamber will be filled by Socialists and Radicals, so violent and so divided that they will have no effect except in discrediting Parliamentary institutions. That is, we believe, a sound calculation, the Russian alliance having given an immense prestige to the Moderates, who, again, have quite conciliated the Clericals; but then cal- culation as to events in France is so very often falsi- fied. Four months at least have to elapse before the elections are held., and that is time for at least four currents of new emotion. It is interesting, nevertheless, to observe how completely M. Faure, who is an ideal Lord Mayor, suits the bourgeois side of the French character. His platitudinous but dignified speeches, his fancy for ceremonial, and his want of originality all alike give them pleasure. It is not an easily explicable fact, considering the devotion of the people both to genius and to glory, but they really like Mr. Dombey at the head of the State.

The "Dreyfus scandal" is said to be creating great excite- ment in France, and we can believe it, for it menaces the judi- cial arrangements of the Army which affect every man in the population. Captain Dreyfus, a Jewish officer, was accused of selling to a foreign Government certain secrets of importance included in the plans for the mobilisation of the Army. He was tried by a secret Court-Martial of highly placed officers, found guilty, and sentenced to transportation for life to a French penal settlement. There was a suspicion about this case from the first, the vague idea being that Captain Dreyfus, being a Jew, had been selected as a scape- goat to hide men much more guilty than himself. M. Scheurer-Kestner, a Vice-President of the Senate and a man of the highest character, who never saw Captain Dreyfus in his life, now says that he has proof positive of that officer's innocence, and that he will, as soon as his proofs are ready for publication, insist on the rehabilitation of the victim either of circumstances or of foul play. It is expected that if the proofs ire as complete as M. Scheurer-Kestner believes, the military administration will compromise with Captain Dreyfus on condition of silence ; but the affair will call out comments in the most dangerous of all places, the soldiers' barracks. The French are only too ready to suspect that they are betrayed, —the secret of the preposterous spy-mania.

There is no news about Crete, except that the Sultan is opposed to everything, which is not fresh information, and very little about Greece. It is affirmed, however, that Great Britain, France, and Russia are willing to guarantee a loan of eight millions sterling, of which half will be paid to the Sultan, a quarter will pay off the usurers who have been supplying ready money to Athena at fabulous rates, and the other quarter will go to bondholders, principally Germans, whose Emperor is therefore willing not to oppose, though he will guarantee nothing. There is no objection to the arrange- ment that we know of if there is sufficient security, but advantage should be taken of the opportunity to free Crete. If Yildiz Kiosk were informed that on the day after the garrisons were withdrawn from Thessaly and Crete the heqne would be paid into the Sultan's own hand, the troops would be out in a month. If the money is paid beforehand the delays will be infinite, and may produce bloodshed.

The officials on the Niger Coast are anxious to make friends with the Aro tribe, who possess a city called Bendi, which is, m a way, sacred, and full of secret fetishes. Major Leonard and Mr. F. James were accordingly despatched to Bendi last December to visit the city, where they were amicably received and placed under a protective taboo. In order to ensure their safety the headman opened a soda-water bottle as the English fetish, and as it went " pop " the chiefs fled, declaring that they could not contend with "the English god in the bottle." The same effect was produced on the officers' return wherever the bottle was displayed. Most things are per- missible to men who explore, taking their lives in their hands ; but General Gordon, or the late General Havelock, or Lord Clyde, if the story is true, would have given those two officers a very sharp lesson in their duty as English Christians. If we cannot acquire trade without inventing evidence that we are idolators of the most degraded type we had better go without palm-oil. Africa seems to taint even our best men.

The opening ceremony of the Bulawayo Railway took place on Thursday. Sir Alfred Milner, the High Commissioner, arrived in the official train at noon, and after receiving and replying to an address and reading a message of congratula- tion from the Colonial Secretary, he completed the proceed- ings by decorating Trooper Henderson with the Victoria Cross and two other troopers with the Distinguished Service Order. Mr. Rhodes was not present at the opening. The official statement is that this was "solely due to his medical adviser's fears that travelling and the excitement of the pre- sent moment might cause a return of the heart affection supervening upon fever, from which, however, Mr. Rhodes has now completely recovered." Now that the railway has reached Bulawayo, and crushing machinery can be brought up, the solution of the question whether there is or is not gold in Rhodesia cannot be any longer delayed. Our strong advice to all investors is to keep their purse-strings tight till crushings have taken place and they know whether or not there is pay- ing gold. They must not assume that there is gold merely because it will now be possible to get up machinery.

The Home-rulers have won the day in the Middleton division of Lancashire (where the polling took place on Thursday), and so have gained a seat. The result of the poll was as follows :—Alderman Duckworth (Radical), 5,964; Mr. W. Mitchell (Conservative), 5,664; Radical majority, 300. In 1895 the figures were as follows :—Mr. Thomas Fielden (Con- servative), 5,926; Mr. a H. Hopwood, Q.C. (Radical), 5,061; Conservative majority, 865. In 1892 the Home-rule majority was 116. It is seldom worth while to discuss the details of by-elections. The fact of importance is that a Home-ruler has been substituted for a Unionist. We regret the fact, but Governments with large majorities cannot expect very eager or spirited support at casual elections.

On Wednesday Mr. Chamberlain was installed as Lord Rector of the Glasgow University, and delivered an address on patriotism. Mr. Chamberlain's sketch of the history of the word "patriotism" was very interesting. Though we had the thing in the days of Elizabeth and still more of Cromwell, we had not the word in its present sense till the time of Charles IL, when Dryden spoke of "a patriot's all- atoning name." Mr. Chamberlain in tracing the history of patriotism was perhaps not quite fair to the Romans. "The feeling," he admits, "may have been more intense among the actual citizens of Rome in proportion as it was more restricted; but it was certainly confined to a very small pro- portion of those who lived under the Roman Eagles, and it differed in degree and in character from the sentiment which has since exercised so great an influence on civilised States." That is of course true, but we must not forget that even in a narrow field the Romans gave splendid examples of patriotism. The Roman who bought, not at " times " but at ordinary prices, the very land on which Hannibal's tent was pitched gave a lesson to all men in the duty of never despairing of the Republic. Mr. Chamberlain, however, is quite right in saying that a patriotism so exclusive cannot equal the ideal of later times. Mr. Chamberlain, in a passage of real eloquence, did justice to the splendid patriotism shown by Frenchmen in the terrible year of the war ; he protested against the "vague attachment to the whole human race," which is so poor a substitute "for the performance of the duties of the citizen," and he insisted that the true basis of empire is, in the words of the Venetians, "to have the hearts and the affection of our citizens and subjects." We have criticised the speech in detail elsewhere, and will only say here that it was not only powerful in thought, but exceedingly able from the literary standpoint.

At the luncheon held after the delivery of the address Mr. Chamberlain made another speech, containing a passage of great interest, and one which ought to kill the absurd illusion that Mr. Chamberlain is a bitter man. Bitter he is not, though he thinks that when you are hitting it is impossible to hit too hard, and foolish not to choose the enemy's very weakest spot. Democracy, he declared, had shown itself peculiarly generous towards its public men. They were not now vilified as they used to be in the days of Pitt and Fox. The democracy is right in its ideas, but apt to be misled about details which it does not understand. "A privileged minority is much more likely to be influenced by personal motives. The democracy, as a rule, is really disinterested and senti- mental." It is the educated, not the democracy, who vote against a Government of which they approve, merely because their pet dogs have got muzzles on. "At all events I can say for myself," said Mr. Chamberlain, "that, although I never hesitated to say what I have thought to be right, and to say it in terms that are not very difficult for any one to understand, yet I have been able to keep my hold on the most democratic constituency, in the most democratic town in the Kingdom, and to come out on each occasion when a contest has been fought with a gigantic majority in a constituency in which there is hardly one single rich man, and in which the great majority are men working with their hands." Mr. Chamberlain will be called egotistical, but we hold that he has a right to be proud of this achievement. It must be remembered, too, that he has not kept his seat by an arrange- ment or by common consent of both sides. Every possible effort has been made to dislodge him.

The Glasgow Unionists took the opportunity of Mr. Chamberlain's presence among them to secure a political speech, which he delivered on Thurs3ay evening at a banquet in St. Andrew's Hall. His questions directed to discovering the policy of the Opposition were very telling. In foreign affairs is their policy one of non-intervention, and of surrender- ing places now in our possession ? Is it a policy of reducing, or refusing to increase, our armaments ? Is it a policy of Little England, or a truly Imperial policy ? Is Home-rule a just cause? Is Disestablishment and Disendowment in England and Scotland a vital principle ? Will they carry Local Veto at the next opportunity? What is their attitude on Labour questions ? Who knows what is the exact position of the Liberal leaders on these matters ? Instead of speak- ing on them, they adopt the policy of the Afridis, and play the part of political snipers. Mr. Chamberlain ended his speech by enumerating the things accomplished by the Government, and by a summary of their policy, which was one of expansion. "We think that a nation, like an individual, is the better for having great responsibilities and great obligations." That is quite true; but at the same time we must not forget that it is possible to go too fast. We are not afraid of responsibility, but we should like to see the value of Imperial concentration more clearly admitted.

Mr. Balfour, speaking at Norwich on Thursday, made a thoughtful and yet confident defence of the Government. He warned the Nonconformists that if they succeeded in destroying the voluntary 'schools they would not be left "with Board-schools after their own hearts and no voluntary schools as rivals." If voluntary schools are abolished "you will be driven sooner or later to withdraw those words in the Act of 1870 which prevent denominational education in Board-schools." After dealing with foreign affairs and with India, Mr. Balfour fell upon a very notable slip made by Lord Rosebery in his Free-trade speech. Lord Rosebery's conten- tion that we must not have an Imperial Zollverein because it would be objected to by Foreign Powers was not, he declared, "an argument which should ever be heard in the mouth of a British statesman." That is absolutely true. Meantime we note with no little satisfaction that Mr. Balfour did not in any way commit himself to the proposal for building a tariff- wall round the Empire. Most certainly we must not be Free- traders with the world from fear of foreign nations, but simply and solely because that is the only policy consistent with our greatness and prosperity and the happiness of our people.

The Employers' Federation will win in the engineers' quarrel, for the resources of the men are exhausted, and the Executive of the Amalgamated Society has put out a manifesto admitting that to carry the contest to a successful issue they must have aid to the amount of 210,000 a week. That is 2520,000 a year, which they certainly will not get. It is folly to suppose that an army can be supported by subscriptions. The masters ought, therefore, to be most conciliatory ; but we deeply regret to perceive signs that they are, now that they are in sight of victory, inclined to push their advantage too far. They are probably in the right in refusing the eight-hour day, as weighting them too much in their com- petition with foreigners, and certainly in the right in insisting that machines shall be regarded as allies, and not as enemies ; but they are wrong in attempting to break up the Unions. They deny the attempt, but they are clearly considering plans for making subscriptions to new and local insurance funds a peremptory condition of work ; and that scheme if it succeeded, even partially, would deprive the Unions of their main "resources." They will find, we fear, in no long time that organised bodies, even when they are a little fractions, are easier to deal with than angry mobs. Certainly they will make the task of government very difficult. The 'Union workmen are voters, and though they cannot rule elections—that is one of their many arithmetical illusions.-4 they can disorganise the existing parties.

Mr. Asquith, speaking at Carnarvon on Saturday last, dealt chiefly with the by-elections past and to come. At Deptford he declared that the electors "should feel themselves under a special responsibility to give expression to the practically unanimous judgment of the whole community, without die- tinction of creed or party, upon the most startling exercise of the right of public patronage ever recorded." Surely it is s. mistake to indulge in such exaggerations as this. Mr. Asquith has a perfect right to say that in choosing Mr. Darling the Lord Chancellor did not make a wise choice; but if he talks like this of the appointment, what would be be able to say if a real scandal were to occur ? Mr. Asquith proceeded to declare that the Liberal party was not after all in such a desperate position as might be imagined from the comments of its critics. Very possibly ; but we should feel more certain of the fact if its leaders would tell us what is their policy and who is their leader. Mr. Asquith ended his speech by a reference to the rating system in towns, which he declared no one attempted to justify, a remark which shows that he favours some scheme of taxing the ground-landlords. We must of course wait to see Mr. Asquith's plan ; but meantime we hope it will be less crude and unworkable than the scheme for getting hold of the "unearned increment" to which Mr. Asquith once put his name.

An article on agriculture in Tuesday's Times states a very curious fact as to the London meat-market which is well worth the attention of all advocates of Protection. We are there told that last week witnessed the inauguration of the export of fresh meat (frozen) from London to the Cape, the steamship 'Nineveh' having taken on board one thousand six hundred quarters of Bowen (Queensland) beef and two thousand carcases of River Plate mutton for conveyance to Cape Town. "The most noteworthy feature of this transac- tion is that, as reported by the Colonial Consignment Company, the meat could be purchased in England at a much lower rate than in the countries of production. Beef at 2fd. per lb. and mutton at 21d. per lb. free-on-board could not be supplied in the Colonies but was procurable at home." This, of course, means that in frozen meat as in many other com- modities Free-trade is making us the bonded warehouse of the world. But that is a position far better worth having than any to be secured by bounties and protective tariffs. The profit of the complicated transaction described above goes to England simply because her ports are free to all who want to sell frozen meat.

On Saturday last there died at Clifton College a true though very little known poet, the Rev. T. E. Brown, author of "Betsy Lee," " Foc's'le Yarns," and "The Doctor." We do not, as a rule, believe in true poets remaining unknown and unappreciated by the public, but there were reasons which made Mr. Brown's touching and beautiful poetry an exception. The poems were written in the Manx dialect—a great non-conductor of sympathy for the ordinary reader— and Mr. Brown, a schoolmaster by profession, was not a man who possessed that literary ambition which is necessary for the winning of popularity. Though he gained an Oriel Fellowship when that was the blue - ribbon of Oxford, he did not care for University distinction. Dr. Percival, however, induced him to become second master at Clifton, and there he remained till 1892, when he retired to his well- loved island. But though Mr. Brown's poems were never popular, he gained the admiration of many, perhaps we should say of all, competent critics. Professor Max Miller, the Times tells us, once named "The Doctor," if not among the hundred best books, yet as one of the most remarkable he knew for sympathy and imagination. The very spirit of youth and of the sea was in Mr. Brown's verses, and be had a power of touching the heart given only to true poets. Though Mr. Brown did not always use the Manx dialect, he was at his beat in the fisher talk. The description of the cows in the cowshed in "Betsy Lee" is among the best things he ever

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