17 MARCH 1883

Page 1

An hour and a quarter earlier an attempt was made

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to blow up the Times' office, in Printing-House Square, by someone who fixed -a tin-box containing explosives on the ledge of one of the ground- floor windows. Mr. Alfred Evans,...

The Tories won the Mid-Cheshire election on Wednesday by e

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majority of 622, the Hon. Alan de Talton Egerton obtaining 4,214 votes, against 3,592 given to the Liberal candidate, Mr. Latham. Both candidates increased their poll over the...

* • The Editors cannot undertake to return Manuscript, in

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any case.

On Wednesday, Mr. Parnell moved the second reading of his

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Irish Land Act Amendment Bill, a Bill which, in principle at least, would transfer the whole land of Ireland, except the rent representing the value of the wild land, to the...

A second riot occurred at Paris on Sunday,.rea,dily put down

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by the police; and a serious one is arranged for to-morrow, when the Anarchists will celebrate the anniversary of the Commune. It is not expected to result in grave conse-...

Mr. Chaplin moved the rejection of the Bill in a

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furious speech of the old kind against the plunder and pillage of the Irish landlords, and concluded by quoting Lord Hartington's and Lord Derby's strong declarations of the...

NEWS OF THE WEEK A T nine o'clock on Thursday evening

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a great explosion took place in the Local Government Office, which wrecked the .room in which it appears to have occurred and forced out the win- • dows, hurled a huge stone,...

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The French are evidently about to take strong action in

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Tonqnin. On Tuesday, M. de St. Valuer argued in the Senate that the possession of Cochin China ought to be made "more fruitful," by the seizure of territory in Tonquin, "in...

Mr. Gladstone's most interesting statistics were those show- ing the

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rapidly accelerating progress made in the settlement of the judicial rents. Of the contentious cases, one-third (30,000) had been settled by the end of January last, while...

Lord Spencer has resigned the Presidentship-in-Council, but retains his seat

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in the Cabinet. It is supposed that Lord Rose- bery will be President-in-Council, but nothing is yet known, and Mr. Gladstone has stated that the opportunity will be taken to...

Mr. Lowell, the American Minister in London, on July 14th

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informed the Government of Washington that the Prevention of Crimes Act included a revival of the old Alien Act, and though "he had every reason to believe the Act would be...

The Tories think they have at last found a good

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case in South Africa, where the Government of the Transvaal, either from weakness or connivance, has allowed its subjects to oppress two Bechnana chiefs in a manner prohibited...

The very important; though little noticed, Conference of the Powers

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upon the navigation of the Danube, held in London, came to a conclusion on Saturday, when a Treaty of nine clauses was provisionally signed. By the terms of this agreement,...

In the Commons, the first desire of the Tories is

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to waste- time, and so exhaust "the Gladstone period." While Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, therefore, "asked for a day" to discuss South-African affairs, Mr. Gorst bad a motion on...

The Indian Budget was published on Thursday in Calcutta,_ and

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is on the whole favourable. The account for 1881-82' proves that the revenue was £73,696,000, and the expenditure 271,113,000, leaving a surplus of £1,583,000. The revised....

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There was an attempt made in Supply on Saturday to

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reduce one of the votes, for conveying "distinguished persons" across -the Channel in special packets, Mr. Labouchere,Mr. Illingvrorth, and others freely expressing their...

There was also a most disgraceful scene in Bordeslay Church

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on Sunday, when the Rev. Alan Hunter Watts, who has been appointed by the Aston Trustees to succeed the Rev. R. W. Enraght, displaced by the operation of the Public Worship,...

There was a "No-Popery" tumult at Pembroke College about a

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fortnight ago, the cause being the presence of a Papal Chamberlain, an M.A. of Brasenose College, of the name of Grissell, who was supposed to be using persuasive influences to...

The use of electricity as a motor is developing,though not

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very rapidly. It appears from a lecture by Professor Ayrton, delivered at the Royal Institution on the Lith_inst., that on the Portrush Railway to the Giant's Causeway, in...

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The Italian Chamber has been debating the action of the

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'Government in Egypt with great vehemence, the Right contend- ing that the British offer to accept Italy as an ally in putting down Arabi's insurrection ought to have been...

Mr. Biggar is an obstinate man. His counsel in the

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breach- -of-promise case brought by Miss Hyland against him applied for a new trial on Wednesday to Lord Justices Brett, Cotton, and Bowen, on the ground that the jury had found...

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THE GOVERNMENT AND THE IRISH LAND ACT.

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T HE tone, even more than the substance, of the Prime- Minister's speech on Wednesday will be a serious dis- appointment to a considerable section of the English Liberals.. Mr....

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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THE USE OF THE NEW FENLIN OUTRAGE. I T is said to be an ill wind which blows nobody good, and we are not sure that even in this dastardly attempt at Westminster we may not find...

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M. GREVY'S POSITION.

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T HERE is not much truth, we imagine, in the rumours of M. Gr6vy's resignation. He may have said in a moment of impatience that if the Chamber did not mend its ways, he must...

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THE NEW SOUTH-AFRICAN TROUBLE. '

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T N most places it is safe to expect the unforeseen, but in South Africa it is safer to await the disagreeable. Within the last thirty years, we never remember a piece of...

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THE MID-CHESHIRE ELECTION.

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T HE election of Mr. Alan Egerton for Mid-Cheshire is a severe party defeat for the Liberals. There is no ex- planation of it, except that the majority of electors in that...

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THE BLASPHEMY CONTROVERSY.

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T HE impressive letters which we publish from Mr. Hansard and another correspondent on the recent sentence passed upon Mr. Foote and his colleagues in the Freethinker, will shed...

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THE RESCUE OF EPPING FOREST.

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M R. BRYCE is to be congratulated on his first Parliament- ary appearance in the character of Chairman of the Commons Preservation Society. The Bill to make a Railway from...

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QUEEN VICTORIA AS GODDESS.

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T HE Athenceum mentions casually a striking incident which is stated to have recently occurred in °Hasa, and which would have broken Lord Beaconsfield's heart. Sergeant...

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STARTLING POETRY.

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R. BROWNING might have taken as a motto for his work as a poet one of Cardinal Newman's striking verses : — "Can Science bear us To the hid springs Of human things P Why may...

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[TO THE EDITOR OF ran " SPECS' ATOR."] SIR,—It may

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be quite true, as you say, that under the present law against blasphemy, writers like Mr. Matthew Arnold ought not logically to escape the punishment which has been inflicted...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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THE BLASPHEMY SENTENCE. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."1 SIR, — It is with much diffidence that I express disagreement with some of the statements in your article on the...

Page 14

THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH LAND.

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[To THE EDITOR OP TER "SPECTATOR."] Sia,—Referring to the criticisms by Mr. Bullock-Hall on my statements respecting the agriculture of some Continental countries, may I...

MR. BRADL1UGH'S ATHEISM.

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[To TER EDITOR OF THE " SpEcrATop.."1 should just like to say a few words in reply to your correspondent "J. K.," with regard to Mr. Bradlaugh's seeming inconsistency in the...

CONTENT AND THE CHURCH CATECHISM. [To TEE EDITOR OF THE

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"SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Most certainly the Church Catechism teaches us to rever- ence our betters : that is the reason why it is so precious a docu- ment for all Radical Churchmen....

PAUPERISM AND ITS REMEDIES.

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[To Tax EDITOR OF TEE "SPECTATOR."] Sia,—May I be permitted to draw attention to two points which seem to arise out of your article on "The New Suffering of the Poor "?...

Page 15

SHELLEY AND THE GRAND STYLE.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. " ] SIR,—It was with great interest that I read the admirable article on "The Conditions of 'The Grant Style,'" in Saturday's Spectator. With...

POETRY.

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TEAR AND SMILE. "WHAT are you ?" said a tear, To a smile playing near. "With a flickering shimmer, You transiently glimmer On the meaningless features of mirth ; But you...

[TO TEE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]

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&a, — T told a meeting of country parsons some months since that, in spite of their care in teaching the Catechism, working- men still believed that that document taught...

BOOKS.

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THE PARCHMENT TENNYSON.* THE "Parchment Library" is very taking in form, though it has one defect, that the thick paper on which it is printed rebels against the parchment...

'CANON RAWLINSON ON THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN.

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FT0 THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."' 'Sts., — Canon Rawlinson says, on page 25 of his tract, "There is no evidence that the primeval savage ever existed." He makes - this...

WOLVES "THINK LONG."

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(To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—With reference to a quotation from Milton, in the article on "The Conditions of the Grand Style," in your paper for last week, the...

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AN AUSTRALIAN TRANSLATION OF JUVENAL.* MEssas. Strong and Leeper are

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Oxford men, but they hold office in the University of Melbourne, and distinctly claim as an ad- vantage for their translation the fact of its having been exe- cuted while they...

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PROFESSOR NICHOL'S HISTORY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE.*

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[FIRST NOTICE.] THE first centenary of American national life was celebrated -only a few years ago, and the first distinctive epoch of Ameri- can literature is just drawing to...

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LECTURES UPON ART.*

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THE Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings may be excused for adding all possible attractions to a book published for the purpose of increasing their funds. Otherwise,...

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NEEDLEWORK, ANCIENT AND MODERN.*

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IT is undoubtedly advisable in these days, when everything is divided, and classified, and made popular, that an art so old and so dignified as that of Needlework should have a...

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THE FATHERS OF ENGLISH FICTION.* The task accomplished by Mr.

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Tuckerman was at one time projected by Mr. Anthony Trollope. That he would have • written a highly entertaining volume is not open to doubt. It is of no slight advantage to have...

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Bristol, Past and Present. By J. F. Nicholls and John

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Taylor. Vol. III. (J. W. Arrowsmith, Bristol ; Griffith and Farran, London.)—This third volume brings to a conclusion this interesting account of Bristol. The period of history...

CURRENT LITERATURE.

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" And that unlettered time srpped on, Saw tropio climes invade the polar rings. Then polar cold lay waste the tropic merge; Saw monster beasts emerge in ooze and air. And run...

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NOVELS.—Mise Elvester's Girls. By the Author of "By-ways.' 3 vols.

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(Tinsley Brothers.)—There is no lack of good work in this novel, but far too many "passages that lead to nothing." The tipsy man at the railway-station with his belongings is...

THEOLOGY.—The Parabolic Teaching of Christ. By Alexander Balmain Bruce. (Hodder

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and Stoughton.)—This "systematic and critical study" is a book which all students of theology should wel- come. Professor Brace brings to his task the learning, the diligence,...

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The Justices' Note•Book. By W. Knox Wigram. Third edition. (Stevens

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and Sons.)—Justices' justice, however much it be de- spised, affects every one, and makes advances, like everything else. We are, therefore, very glad to see a third edition of...

Letts's Complete Popular Atlas. (Letts, Son, and Co., Limited.)— 'his

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is an unusually complete popular atlas, with many definite merits and a few patent defects. The maps, to begin with, are printed on faced linen, which will not tear,—an immense...