statement that the King had summoned a Con- ference of representatives of the political parties to meet at Buckingham Palace and discuss the Irish question.—The chosen...

can be stated as follows. We believe that Mr. Asquith sincerely desires a settlement, and also believes that the settlement can only be obtained by exclusion. Further, he...

to be "hanging by a thread." We do not, however, mean even at the eleventh hour to give up hope that the final outcome of its deliberations will be peace. Though only the...

at all, for the very good and sufficient reason that no one is suggesting that Tyrone should be put under Protestant domination or under a Belfast Parliament. If Tyrone is...

T HE event of the week which eclipses all others in interest and importance is the meeting of the Conference of political leaders which assembled at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday...

that the discussions at the Conference turned upon the question of area, but that the essential difference of opinion was in regard to Tyrone. On the exclusion or inclusion of...

of extraordinary public interest. The first meeting was opened by the King in person. We must quote in full the King's speech on this memorable occasion:— " Gentlemen. It is...

about the statement which Mr. Asquith had just made in the Commons. He was uneasy at the fact that Ministers should have suggested such a Conference. Would not the...

case.

last long. In the first place the Unionist evening papers of Wednesday pointed out that Mr. Asquith, Mr. Lloyd George, Mr. Winston Churchill, Lord Loreburn, and, indeed, almost...

names we have mentioned would have the good feeling to apologize to their readers for action so unworthy. We fear, however, that it is much more likely that what they will do—...

Radicals was completed by Mr. Asquith's very firm and sensible statements in Parliament. He not only declared in emphatic words that he took entire responsibility for the King's...

speech, in which there is not a word which can fairly be said to encourage party feeling or to indicate that the King is taking sides, would have been accepted with satisfaction...

amongst Radical Members of Parliament another outbreak of spite and jealousy even more childish and ridiculous. It has actually been made a grievance that the Conference met at...

in the violence with which the Radical Members have denounced the notion that there shall be a Dissolution. Indeed, the suggestion of Dissolution is, from the Radical point of...

and injustice of our contemporaries, though as Unionists we cannot profess to be greatly concerned. The English people are a rough people, but they are just. Nothing excites...

St. Petersburg on a visit. The French President received a very hearty welcome, and warmly-worded toasts were exchanged between him and the Emperor at the State banquet. The...

of the Navy. But the very causes of satisfaction will themselves become a danger if we allow them to soothe us into a false sense of security. It is tempting to many people to...

Monarchy cannot maintain its attitude of expectant forbearance or any longer tolerate the machinations which have originated from Belgrade. It therefore demands from the Servian...

Servian Govern- ment intend to meet this very menacing document, or what the Austrians propose to do if the Servians turn stubborn and refuse to make reply within the prescribed...

King even more ridiculous, Mr. Asquith on Thursday, on the demand of Sir Henry Dalziel, gave his interpretation of the much debated sentence in the King's Speech in regard to...

at Spithead. More than two hundred vessels were in the lines, stretching over nearly forty miles, and the officers and men afloat numbered over seventy thousand. This was the...

between Austria-Hungary and Servia, but must add here that the latest news on Friday shows that we have somewhat under-estimated not only the danger but the directness of the...

suspension of the eleven o'clock rule, and described the Government's plans. The Revenue Bill is held over till next Session, which will open late in November or early in...

THE KING'S FUNCTION. T N our opinion the King's intervention in the crisis, what- ever may be its ultimate result, has been as wise as it is timely. His action is in every way...

have to a very great extent obscured for them the European prospect. Yet, if we judge by the telegrams in the Press and by the agitated condition of many of the Continental...

proceeding in France has already touched politics at innumerable points, and no doubt before it is finished it will reinforce the general belief that no French criminal trial of...

of Lords in failing to come to a decision in the Lumsden Case is the last of a long series of wrongs arising out of the Lloyd Georgian land taxes as applied to builders'...

H OWEVER intensely we may believe that it is inspiration which prompts men to believe in another life, we must admit that it is imagination which forces them to picture it. The...

T HE search of the London County Council for a county motto has brought them hundreds of coadjutors, yet the searchers are not nearer a perfect discovery than they were at the...

A S . far as the present writer has been able to ascertain, no attempt to deal with the housing of the "labouring poor" was made in England until about the year 1775. By that...

THE OSCAR SLATER CASE. [To nu: EDITOR OP T1 'Tram:Los:] SIR,—You were good enough to open your columns to a correspondence upon the subject of the conviction of Oscar Slater,...

[To THE EDITOR OE TER " SPECTATOR:1 SIE, — In a note appended to a letter in the Spectator of July 18th you say: "Three months ago we do not doubt that if the Government had...

mo THE EDITOR Or THE "SPECTATOR.") Ent,—The gravity of the present situation of public affairs is patent enough, but it is by no means easy to ascertain the efficient cause of...

BEROTATOR."1 would like to draw attention to the last lines of Dr. Gneist's History of the English Constitution. They run as follows, and are interesting as bearing on the...

THE "SPECTATOR:1 Sin,—There is one thing in the present state of affairs that seems to be unnoticed, unheeded, or unforeseen. That is, that it is impossible to rope off...

[To TEC EDITOR OF TRI1 "sPiccp,Tos."1 Sin,—With our national preoccupation about Ireland, Wales is naturally somewhat out of focus. Thus an incident, worthy of attention,...

[TO TIM EDITOR Or TER "SPECTATOZ...] Sin,—Lord Bryce, a former Chief Secretary for Ireland, declared in the debates on the Amendment Bill that provision for the...

[To THE EDITOR Or THEI " SPECTATOR...I SIR,—This Association has now been constituted, its objective being "to bring about such changes in the Constitution as will secure an...

Sin,—I was greatly interested by the letter of your "Lanca- shire Reader" in last week's issue, and quite admit the truth of the points he makes. There is, however, one great...

[To THY. EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR, — Supporters of the principle of a National Church cannot consistently dispute the right of Parliament to deal with the constitution...

[To 1111 EDITOR OF TRH " SIMC7ATOR."1 Sin,—In your issue of June 18th, under the heading "president Wilson's Good Fortune," you urge, as you have frequently urged in the...

[To THE EDITOR 01 TUN " SPECTATOR.] Srn,—In view of the increase in the exercise of force to secure labour for tropical regions, serious developments in the South Seas, and...

[To TER EDITOR OF THE "5PECTATOR...1 SIR,—I read with much interest a letter by Mr. Moreton Frewen bearing on the problem of British poverty in your last issue, and as Mr....

[To TIER EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR.1 SIR, — Under the above heading a recent cablegram from Berlin states: "The British Government had almost reached the limit of indirect...

[To THE EDITOR OP TIM "SPECTITOR.1 Sin,—As an old-established builder in the county of Surrey, I would like to draw your attention to the existing diffi- culties from a...

[TO THZ EDITOR OP TRH "SPECTATOR...] SIR, — You have been once again giving vent to my bumble opinions about the efficacy of rafts, and their being carried in these enormous...

Sin,—Will you allow a few words of comment on your admirable article of last week from a constructor's point of view? With all respect, this question is no longer one for the...

[To THE EDITOR Or THE " Srsomos. " ] STR, — Your correspondent, Mr. Arthur Norman, in the Spectator of July 18th, closes his letter by the statement : "When he (i.e., the...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—You invite mention of metrical experiments by Shakespeare, of a special character, other than the six- syllabled blank verse quoted in...

[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,— " Scepticus ' " letter in your last issue gives one of the many simple methods by which one, even if a strong swimmer, may lose his...

[To THE EDTTOR OF TIM "SPECTAT0R." . 1 Sra,—I read in the last Spectator which reached me from home your interesting article on "Howlers." I venture to give you two more, one...

[To TEM EDITOR Or THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR, — Several letters have appeared in the Spectator this year relating to naval officers who served at Trafalgar. May I be permitted to...

the deck of a sinking steamer. The danger of being washed off a raft may be easily over- come by a wooden fence or railing, say two feet six inches to three feet high, attached...

was in a boat on the Stour at Christ- church. An oar touched a post in mid-stream, and in an instant the boatman and I were in the water. We caught the overturned boat and clung...

[To TEN EDITOR Or TEl "SPECTATOR"] Sin,—I hope the following cricket incident may interest your readers. In the year 1744 a cricket match was played on the Artillery Ground,...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SpEcrAron."), Sin,—In your issue of June 27th, p. 1063, in the course of a book review, you say : "Mr. William B. Scott is Blair Professor of Geology...

MR. MORRITT OF ROKEBY.. IN 1808 Lady Louisa Stuart introduced Sir Walter Scott to a Yorkshire squire, Mr. Morritt of Rokeby, who speedily became one of his chief intimates. His...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."' SIR,—In an interesting letter published in your issue of July 18th, Mr. L. H. Barnard refers to the superstition that the person who on the...

GALLO PIN' JOE. (A CORNISH CHARACTER.) GA.LLOPIN' JOE be the fancy name us calls him in the Port, Tho' tisn' for looks he've got the name, be baint the hurryin' sort He'm...

region forty years ago to run at top speed upon first hearing the cuckoo in the spring was an observance not to be broken lightly. Boys especially were enjoined to fail not. No...

or initials, or with a pseudonym, or are marked "Communicated," the Editor must not necessarily be held to be in. agreement with the views therein expressed or with the mode of...

[COMMUNICATED.] THE Rev. Frederick Brown, familiarly known through Northern China as "Brown of Tientsin," has written an unpretentious, but none the less interesting, account...

has waited long for an adequate presentment of his claims on the notice of his • The Life of Charles, Third Earl Stanhope. Commenced by Ghita Stanhope. Revised and Completed...

THE borderland between China and Tibet remains an almost unknown land of mystery. It is a country equally interesting to the anthropologist, the botanist, the zoologist, and the...

an urban picture that in many ways corresponds to the rural picture drawn by Mr. Rowntree and Miss Kendall in their How the Labourer Lives. In each case we disagree with some of...

grand old name of gentle- man," has been "Defamed by every charlatan, And soiled with all ignoble use." It is all the more desirable that attention should be drawn, as it is in...

THE July number of the Edinburgh Review is full of interesting and informing articles. The first in place is an admirable piece of historical writing by Mr. Marriott, entitled...

THE YOUNGEST WORLD.* Ig Mr. Robert Dunn could persuade himself sometimes to be simple be might produce such a novel as the undoubted ability of The Youngest World convinces us...

and Co. 6s.)—This story is an ingenious variant on a not very new plot—that of the lover or husband who falls in love after a conventional engagement or marriage. In this...

K. Damant.)—This touching little book is supposed to be written by 'Caesar,' the late King Edward's pet dog, and has been admirably translated into simple French. All children...

Paul and Co. 12s. 6d. net.)—Mr. Philip is the Borough Librarian of Gravesend, and well known as a diligent student of the local antiquities. No one could be better fitted to...

Humphry and Lieut-Colonel T. F. Fremantle. (Bowes and Bowes. 5s. net.)—The National Rifle Association was founded in 1859, at the same time as the Volunteer movement., in...

[Under this heading tr. notice such Books of ths week as hare nil leen reserved for review in other forms.] Municipal Glasgow. (Glasgow Corporation.)—This useful volume gives...

Co. 6s. net.)—In this second volume of a series dealing with our national industries, Professor Kirkaldy describes the evolution of the modern ship, the management and...

£3 3s. net.)—This book is a sequel to the two volumes pub- lished after the return of the Discovery.' It contains a facsimile of the typewritten newspaper which was produced...

P. Rosier. 5fr. net.)—Albania was, till quite lately, one of the least known districts of Europe. M. Gibert has compiled a useful summary of what had been published about it...

Heinemann. 6s.)—There is nothing really mysterious about the story which Mr. Beresford sets forth in his new novel, and yet the reader has all the time the feeling that the...

Vinogradoff and F. Morgan. Milford. 16s. net.)—We welcome the first of a series of records of the social and economic history of England and Wales, which the British Academy...

Unwin. 5s. net.)—A popular account of such things as warming-pans and fire-irons, nut-crackers and tea-caddies, which are old enough or artistic enough to fall within the...

(Chatto and Windus. 6s)—A sentimental and rather highly coloured story of the "rescue" of a girl from convent life in Syria.--Louis Norbert. By Vernon Lee. (John Lane....

(Clarendon Press. 14s. net.)—Professor Boas has already delivered a series of lectures on the English Academic drama at Trinity College, Cambridge, and has written on the...

Son. 3s. 6d. net.)—" Probation" is a system by which reclaimable offenders are given a chance to reform. "Instead of being punished, these offenders are conditionally released...

E. Bradley and F. H. Bowman. (Ewart, Seymour and Co. 5s.)—This clearly written work should be of service to all who are thinking of taking out a patent. Dr. Bowman, who writes...

and Norgate. is. net.)—The editor of The Young Man claims to have exceptional opportunities of understanding the young men of Britain, and reminds them that success depends on...

Stoughton. is. 6d.)—These seventeen addresses indicate the position of the Salvation Army in relation to some of the leading problems of woman's social work.

devoted to local history and antiquities. In The Mearns of Old (W. Hodge and Co., 21s. net) Mr. James Crabb Watt gives us a very learned and valuable history of Kincardine down...

Bart., and others. (Longmans and Co. 2s. net.)—This is a reasoned "appeal to architects" to design their campaniles in accordance with the expert views of bell-ringers.

Sir Willoughby Maycock. (Chatto and Windus. 12s. 6d. net.)—Sir Willoughby Maycock, who served for forty-one years in the Foreign Office, was attached to Mr. Chamberlain's...

10s. net.)—This important mathematical essay, by a well-known physicist, is too purely technical in its argument for detailed discussion in our columns.

"lady with the lamp" used to write an annual letter to the probationer-nurses of the Nightingale School at St. Thomas's Hospital. A charming book—which should be in the hands...

net.)—This collection of amusing stories and ingenious reflections is evidently the clarified residuum of long practice in making conversation.

saintly life, whether or not they be Roman Catholics, will welcome a pocket anthology of The Spirit of Cardinal Newman, edited by Father C. C. Martindale, S.J. (Burns and Oates,...

MacDonnell. (John Long. 15s. net.)—The Belgian Kingdom gained a somewhat unenviable notoriety through Leopold IL's Congo speculation. Mr. MacDonnell assures us that "it was by...