THE MAGAZINES.

THE new Nineteenth Century is a decidedly stimulating, not to say controversial, number. Thus we have an impeachment of English insularity by Mr. Arthur H. Adams, a New Zealander, who finds us racially isolated, and reduced in our outlook, our minds, our amusements, and even our immorality, to a general level of intolerable dulness. He speaks with ill- disguised contempt of our Universities : all Oxford men are turned out in the one stiff, reserved pattern; "the English ideal of a woman seems to be a dull, placidly pretty, regular- featured, dignified piece of ice. Intelligence, animation, individuality, knowledge are not needed." Wherever Mr. Adams went he heard "peevish expressians of discontent at the newer national activities of the Colonies." He never

found an Englishman to take him seriously "when I informed him, for instance, that the inhabitants of Australia were Australians. In hie view, Australians were but degenerate Englishmen." Perhaps it is as well that we should hear such plain speaking, but we may console ourselves with the reflec- tion that, after all, this is only an individual impression ; if a reply is needed, we can safely trust other citizens of Greater Britain to correct the asperity of Mr. Adams's criticisms. In any case, Mr. Adams lays himself open to the vulgar to guoque, " You're another !" when he accuses islanders of insularity. —Mr. J. Ellis Barker's rejoinder to Lord Avebury's plea for a better understanding with Germany is a most curious performance. He is divided between hostility to the Germans and admiration of their political and industrial methods. We have, in his view, exposed ourselves to Germany's successful rivalry by our insane adhesion to Free-trade, and our blind- ness in not adopting the Bismarckia.n view of international relations. If we understand Mr. Barker aright, no nation can be prosperous and efficient unless at the expense

of her neighbours. For the rest, to quote his own words, " Protection may be very bad for the consumer and for the capitalist—in Germany large capitalists are almost unknown—but it is excellent for the nation, for it looks after the national interests, and it is excellent for the people, for Protection protects labour, whilst the Moloch of Free Trade has ' consumed' our agriculture, our manu- facturing industries, our national health, strength and prosperity, and is converting Great Britain into a desert dotted with workhouses and peopled with British and alien paupers." This single sentence, every clause in which bristles with disputable assertions, will serve to indicate Mr. Barker's fitness to discuss questions of Weltpolitik.—Mr. Thomas Burt's temperate suggestions as to the reform of Parliamentary Procedure have been largely forestalled by the decisions of the House during the past week. He also pleads for a development of internal devolution by expanding and perfecting the system of Grand Committees ; and the editor drives home his criticisms of the inadequate accommodation provided by the present Chamber by reprinting an article of the late Mr. Charles Barry (the eldest son of the designer of the Houses of Parliament), originally published thirteen years ago, suggesting certain structural alterations to meet the requirements of the House as at present constituted.—All who are interested in the Navy should read Sir William White's remarkable paper on " Admiralty Policy and the Naval Estimates," in which be renews his attack on the policy of " scrapping " the obsolete vessels, gives good reasons for refusing to accept the Admiralty estimate of their alleged economies, and vigorously impugns the secrecy which has been maintained in regard to the design of the ' Dreadnought' as absolutely contrary to the traditions of the Royal Navy. France, Germany, and the United States give the fullest par- ticulars of dimensions and cost in regard to new construction, and in so doing " they follow a lead set by this country, and persist therein, while our practice has been changed, and information to which the public has a right is refused."

Lord Milner in his article iu the National Review offers a temperately worded plea for a policy on the part of this country, and an attitude on the part of the British people, which will steadily tend to strengthen the loyal nucleus in South Africa. He is unable to take the view that the sharp division of feeling between the two sections of our South African fellow-citizens will speedily disappear, or that it is wise to try to hurry the change. The Boers cannot be expected to feel more than acquiescence in the union of South Africa under the British flag, but in process of time we may reasonably hope for " a temperate recognition on their part of the advantages of British citizen- ship, of the wider outlook and opportunities afforded by membership of a world-wide Empire, and a willingness to co- operate with their British neighbours without trying to pull them over the line which divides controversy from separation." To achieve this end, however, while treating the Dutch with perfect fairness, " we must do all we can to strengthen and hearten the British element, and to envelop South Africa, as

far as possible, in a British atmosphere It always comes back to this, that in order to retain South Africa, we must retain the affection of the South African British, or at least of a considerable number of them." This can only be done by non-interference, where interference is sure to provoke

resentment, and by substituting sympathy and understanding for indifference and misconception. Perhaps the most striking passage in the article is that dealing with the view that the capitalists made the war. Lord Milner, on the contrary, contends that it was not a case of capitalists stirring up the people, but of a popular movement "dragging in the capitalists, or rather some of them, and even those for the most part reluctantly." The passage that follows deserves quotation in full :—

" For the money-maker, pure and simple, there never was such a Paradise as the Transvaal under President Kruger. In that

Paradise, wealth, as long as it abstained from politics, could do what it liked. I will do President Kruger and his party the justice to say, that I do not believe all the riches of Golconda would have tempted them to imperil the 'independence' of their country, which, to their minds, was identical with the mainte- nance of the Boer oligarchy. No expenditure of money, for instance, could have bought political rights for the ITitlanders. But, apart from politics, everything was venal. I do not say that the old rulers of the Transvaal were all personally corrupt— some were and some were not. But the system lent itself to the most wholesale corruption. For the man who had wealth, and no scruples about the use of it, and who had no interests other than his wealth, the conditions were as favourable as any that have ever existed in the world. Why should men of that character seek to disturb such conditions ? And, as a matter of fact, the men of this class—the men wholly absorbed in the pursuit of gold, who have excited the popular indignation and have brought an undeserved reproach, not only upon all the capitalists, but on the whole people of the Transvaal—these men, whatever their sins, were quite innocent of political agitation. Neither before the war, nor during the war, nor since the war have they shown the slightest sympathy with the British cause or given the smallest help to those who were engaged in upholding it. There were capitalists, no doubt, who did so ; but they were men in whom political sympathies, right or wrong, were stronger than considerations of pecuniary advantage. And even their influence has been enormously exaggerated."

Lord Milner, we may note, has no doubt as to the ultimate verdict of history, though be entertains serious apprehension as to the irreparable mischief which may be done before that verdict is recorded.—Mr. Alfred Lyttelton in his paper on "The Government and South Africa " makes three points. He .,ontends that the analogy of Canada and the policy of Lord Durham is all against the " rushing " of responsible govern- ment. Secondly, he contends that a large number of the British community in the Transvaal who were averse from the premature grant of responsible government, while believing in the need for Chinese labour, sided with the " responsibles " owing to the instinct of industrial preservation, " the choice appearing to be between self-government or the continual menace of Downing Street interference "; but that, owing to the threat of the veto, they find themselves manceuvred into a false position. Finally, he quotes selections from the British Guiana Ordinance to make good his contention that to veto the Chinese Ordinance without touching the other is grossly unfair. In conclusion, he predicts disaster to the Government and country should the present policy be persisted in. We have not space here to deal with Mr. Lyttelton's argu- ments, some of which have been already traversed in these columns ; but we may say that the British Guiana analogy is vitiated at the outset by the fact that the Transvaal is not a tropical country in which white men are physically incapable of the labour performed by the coolies.—Mr. Maurice Low's "American Affairs" are more than usually interesting this month, notably his discus- sion of Mr. Roosevelt's position, and of the rising tide of Socialism, which Mr. Low traces to the arrogance of " money- mad " capitalists. A propos of the fierce controversy now raging over the Canal works at Panama, Mr. Low con- gratulates the British Government on their wisdom in refusing to take a hand in this undertaking, on the ground that as a commercial enterprise it could never be made to pay.— Admiral Penrose Fitzgerald in " Colonial Maritime Defence " strongly supports the view taken in these columns that the Colonies where possible should own their navies, and urges on the Government at the next Colonial Conference " to remit absolutely and unconditionally all money payments in aid of the British Navy."

Events have moved so fast in the last fortnight as to furnish a practical comment on a good deal of Mr. J. A.

Spender's thoughtful article on "The New Government and its Problems," which stands first in the new Contemporary. _Perhaps the most interesting part of the article is the survey of the years which preceded the Election, Mr. Spender's view

being that what he calls the Chamberlain period led inevitably to the Chamberlain policy. His analysis of the relations of the late Premier and Mr. Chamberlain is interesting and acute " Mr. Balfour cleared the ground on which Mr. Chamberlain built, and he was supremely effective in undermining the foundations of the old beliefs which stood between Mr.

Chamberlain and his new policy What he forgot was that incorrigible human instinct which, when one dogma is deposed, requires that another shall be enthroned in its place." As regards the future, Mr. Spender observes that " what we have to deal with henceforth is not the unsettled convictions or uncertain intentions of Mr. Balfour, but the stubborn con- victions of Mr. Chamberlain," and he utters a much-needed warning against the dangers of regarding Free-trade as safe, or disbanding any of the forces mobilised for its defence.— "Testis," writing on " Religious Events in France " from the standpoint of a candid but friendly critic of the Roman Church, ascribes the recent disturbances to the political partisanship of the extreme clerics, egged on by Royalists and Anti- Semites. With a little goodwill he holds that the ecclesiastics might have avoided all these disorders, and predicts that if the Pope obliges the Roman Catholics to vote against the law the Roman Church will probably lose France. So far the Catholics of France have lost their battle on the political ground solely because "they have forgotten the truly holy

battle, the intellectual, moral, and religious struggle."— Mr. Takegoshi, a Japanese Deputy and formerly chef de cabinet to the Marquis Saionji when Minister of Education,

contributes an interesting and highly appreciative study of the new Premier. Mr. Takegoshi regards the accession to power of the Marquis—who comes of an old aristocratic family and spent fifteen years in Paris in his youth—as " the victory of democracy against bureaucracy, of party govern- ment against clan government, of European progressivism. against Asiatic conservatism." It is interesting to learn that now, for the first time for nearly forty years, a man outside the four leading clans of Satsuma, Nagato, Tosa, and Hizen occupies the highest position in the Government.—Dr. J.

Holland Rose's essay on "The Limitations of Napoleon's Genius " is remarkable for an instructive comparison of the methods and achievements of Bismarck and Bona- parte. His final verdict is that if we judge of statesmen, "not by the brilliance of their exploits and the scale of their operations, but by the abiding importance of the political results which they achieved, the name of Napoleon must in that sphere take rank below that of Bismarck." Napoleon's reorganisation of France, in Dr. Rose's opinion, was the great achievement of his life. His judgments on literature were on a higher plane than those on art, hut, as Goethe said, he had studied the tragic stage "with the attention of a criminal Judge." For the rest, in war as in diplomacy, Dr. Rose notes that, probably from some lack of the faculty of projecting -his mind to the standpoint of his opponents, he underrated their ability and power, with the result that the discovery of the real state of affairs occasionally caused him a severe mental shock.

" Perseus," writing in the Fortnightly, takes the view that by the abandonment of "pacific penetration" in Morocco France has lost all, and that Germany has gained the essential point for which she contended. This was not a Moroccan policy, but the power to dictate in European affairs. M.

Delcasse was on the point of seriously imperilling this domination, and his fall bad to be accomplished even by threats of war. According to the writer of the article, the aim of Germany is to keep all ways open and all hostile com- binations at bay, so that when the supreme moment of the ruin of the Austrian Empire comes about she may be free to seize her opportunity. It is hinted that she has been attempting to induce France to finance the Baghdad Railway for her, because the way to Asia Minor would be opened through the Balkans if the great hope were realised.—Miss Constance Maud gives a charming account of a visit to a French Archbishop, who is known as the "Pere du Peuple." In his young days he was an Army chaplain, and in the Franco-Prussian War wrote the soldiers' letters to their sweethearts and wives from the camp. Now he spends his life in perpetually doing good to his flock. The doors of the Archeveche are always open, and Miss Maud was told by her driver that he went to him to ask for a recom• mendation for his son, who sought a place at the railway station. Monseigneur at once carried off the young man in

his carriage to the Chef de Gare and gained the situation for him. Celestine, the old gouvernante who rules the Archbishop in his palace, is described. She tries to save him from giving to unworthy objects, for his large charity is open to all. The old Archbishop lives without state in the most simple way. The only dignity in the palace is that maintained by M. Felix, Monseigneur's valet. He at least tries to main- tain the state and dignity of the Church. The Archbishop told his visitor that he greatly desired to go to London, and asked whether she could tell why. Westminster Abbey and the new Roman Catholic Cathedral were suggested as the desired things to be seen. " She insists on keeping me in a church,' he laughed, while I desire to go to a museum. Is that not quite as suitable for an old antiquity such as I am ? Ah, but I should like much to visit your museum of London, and see those Greek sculptures of the Parthenon.' " In Blackwood Mr. Perceval Gibbon draws a striking but extravagant picture of Count Witte, with his unkempt beard and moustache au diable and wonderful eyes, which are described as "lambent, inscrutable, mesmeric." The last and weakest of the Emperors Witte has served has laid on him too hard a task. The work of opposing a great national move- ment, even if superficially successful, is a labour beyond that of Hercules :-

"He is a diplomatist lost among facts, a trafficker in words, who is face to face with the brutality of unglozed actualities. It has broken him. I heard a Russian speak of him in St. Petersburg, having just returned from visiting him in his official quarters. 'This business identifies him definitely with the reactionaries,' he said, 'and Witte by no means relishes that. It was always his pose to be a buffer. But this is the end. De Plehve went out in flame; Witte will gutter out like a foul wick.'"

—Mr. Noyes in the continuation of his epic relates the setting out of Drake's little fleet with Doughty and the musicians on board. The narrative is interrupted with songs, one of which is a new ballad put into the setting of the old refrain of "N'oserez vous, mon bel ami ? "—a new picture in

an ancient frame.—Mr. Lucy writes on " A New House for the Commons." He tells us that the existing House has only three hundred and six seats in it, and a hundred more in the Members' Gallery, and compares the Ministerial side of the House as it is at present to a congested district. In other

countries accommodation is much more ample. In France and Austria every Member is provided with a desk, the lid of which can be slammed on exciting occasions. Mr. Lucy does not mention the fact that after the adjournment of a stormy and noisy sitting in the French Chamber the Deputies on returning found to their surprise that wads of felt had been inserted in their desks, so that no effectual means of making a loud noise except by their voices was possible. A Committee of the House of Commons in 1867 recommended that a new House should be built in the Commons Court, and Professor Tyndall gave evidence on the theory of acoustics. There the question rested, except that at the beginning of a new Parliament, when Members are fresh and attend frequently, the cry of want of space is raised. The cry soon subsides, and the old House remains unaltered.

Dr. Saleeby in the Monthly Review describes the objects of the newly founded " Francis Gallon Research Fellowship in National Eugenics" in the London University. Mr. Galton has for many years been known by his work in connection with hereditary genius, and he has sought to perpetuate his studies. His latest scheme aims at nothing less than the improvement of the race of man. Evolution goes on, for it is unlikely that the process which has brought man to his present state has ceased acting. The problem which Mr. Galton wishes to solve is,—Can the upward process be quickened by the conscious actions of men P In other words, can men and women about to marry be made to consider the future of the race, and will mankind submit to the granting of eugenic certificates by the men of science P Unless we much misunderstand mankind, they will submit to nothing of the kind.—Mr. Leonard Bastin gives some curious facts relative to the cultivation of plants in artificial circumstances. It seems that a plant, say a lily-of-the- valley, can be kept in a cold storage till long after its normal flowering time, and when it is brought out into light and warmth suffers no ill effects, the natural period of rest having been merely prolonged. Thus the flower can Ie. produced long after its season. But some flowers and most fruits will not mature without strong light, and an apple made to flower in August will hardly produce ripe fruit in December, from the absence of sunlight. Horticulturists are now studying the effects of artificial light on plants, and discover that much the most effective illuminant is acetylene gas. Radishes grown with this light shining on them all night were nearly double the weight of radishes which had only daylight. The effects of coloured light have been tested, and it is found that red light produces greater growth than blue. Interesting as these experiments are in the abstract, it is doubtful if there would be any pleasure derived from an annihilation of the seasons. If all fruits and all flowers were obtainable all the year round, one of the great rhythmic movements of the world—the seasons—would, in respect of a large part of their moral effect on mankind, be destroyed.

The Independent Review contains an article by Mr. W. J. Fisher on "Electoral Abuses." He points out that by means of canvassing mendacious statements about a candidate may be circulated by unscrupulous opponents, and proposes that systematic canvassing by agents and friends of a candidate should be prohibited. The writer goes on to describe the subtle ways in which the law against treating is evaded. It is very difficult to tell, for instance, whether a regular customer at a public-house is receiving free drinks, or merely running up his account. Also it is difficult to say for certain whether the sudden activity of old, and the creation of new, clubs about election times, including suppers for members, are real or not. Apparently such a proceeding cannot be reached by the law, for when the Mayor of a city accompanied a candidate to public-houses and treated all the loafers in the bars, the candidate paid nothing, and could not be touched, though he benefited by the corruption carried on in his interest. Sub- scriptions, too, are a cause of scandal. Candidates when solicited for money announce that they cannot give till after the election. Thus the greedy subscription-bunter is induced to work for the return of the candidate who is likely to give most. Mr. Fisher does not go into details as to the manner of checking these abuses, but be suggests that we should copy the New Zealand plan of making the polling-day a general holiday, with all public-houses closed. Something ought to be done to reduce the amount a candidate is allowed to spend. A large part of the money spent is pure waste, but no one dares to be economical for fear of being considered mean.—Mr. J. A. Hobson, writing of " The Taxation of Monopolies," airily dismisses the idea of reduced expenditure, and, in fact, regards as certain the spending of large sums on "social reforms," holding that it will be better to tax " monopolies " rather than raise the money by a tariff. The plan advocated is practically that of a tax on incomes over a certain amount which are derived from what is vaguely called monopolies. It is difficult to make out quite where the line would be drawn, but apparently " rents of land and extra gains arising from the employment of capital or ability upon advantageous terms of sale in a restricted market " would be highly taxed.