3 FEBRUARY 1912

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NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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T HE foreign situation is strange in the extreme. War is being waged in Tripoli and on what would not long ago have been called a great scale, for there are some 80,000 or...

On Monday a general strike broke out in Lisbon, but

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in consequence of the vigorous action of the Government it was considered practically at an end on Wednesday. The organizers of the movement, the Workmen's Federation of...

IV The Editors cannot undertake to return Manuscript in any

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case.

The visit of the British Deputation to Russia has been

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an unqualified success, all classes and parties vieing with each other in manifestations of friendliness and goodwill. The " English week" in St. Petersburg included a reception...

The South Slav question, which is most ably dealt with

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by "Scotus 'Plater" in our correspondence columns, has entered on an acute stage. A telegram from the Vienna corre- spondent of the Times in Monday's issue announces that the...

On Monday the German Emperor issued a Rescript to the

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Imperial Chancellor on the occasion of his birthday oele- brations and of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick the Great. The Rescript begins by remarking that in a...

The German Emperor's fifty-third birthday, which was cele- brated throughout

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the Empire last Saturday, proved the occasion for a remarkable article in Die Post, the organ of bellicose patriotism in Germany, which is quoted in the Daily Mail of Tuesday....

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In regard to woman suffrage, continued Mr. Boner Law, the

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Prime Minister had told them that it would be a national disaster and in the same breath declared his readiness to be the instrument for perpetrating that disaster. The...

On Friday week Mr. Boner Law addressed a. great meeting

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in the Albert Hall, attended by 10,000 Unionists, including some sixty M.P.'s, with Mr. Walter Long in the chair. Mr. Boner Low, who had a great reception, dealt effectively...

Speaking at a woman suffrage demonstration at Richmond on Saturday

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last, Mrs. Fawcett dealt at length with the movement in favour of subjecting the woman suffrage ques- tion to the Referendum. Neither Mr. Asquith nor Sir Edward Grey had said...

On Tuesday the King and Queen arrived at Gibraltar, and

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on Wednesday a Spanish squadron from Algeciras, with the Infante Don Carlos on board, steamed to the Rook and saluted their Majesties. The same morning the King presented new...

The Times of Friday publishes a statement from its Parliamentary

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correspondent to the effect that the Home Rule Bill has now been drafted and that it is a "reproduc- tion, more or less in skeleton form, of the Home Rule Bill of 1893." The...

As for the War Office, Mr. Bonar Law admitted the

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industry and lucidity of Lord Haldane, but his merits could not conceal the extent of his failure—his reduction of our Army without reducing its cost or maintaining the...

Even if the " In.and-Out " clause is carried and

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there is not a permanently " In " provision for the Irish, Scotch, and Welsh representatives, he will be in the position of a man who has bailiffs in the house. There will be...

It is with deep regret that we record the death

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of the Duke of Fife, which took place at Assuan on Monday from pleurisy. There is something particularly tragic in the fact that the Duke, after escaping from the immediate...

The forecast certainly sounds probable, and of one clause there

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can be no doubt—namely, that Great Britain will be called upon to pay a very large subsidy to the Irish Exchequer, while at the same time shouldering many purely Irish burdens,...

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It was announced on Friday that the pledge to accept

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no service whatever under the Insurance Act, issued by the Practitioner for the signature of members of the medical pro- feesion, has been signed by more than 21,000 doctors out...

While noting the Times forecast we must record that Friday's

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Daily Chronicle also has a forecast of the Bill which differs in many essential particulars. It declares that the Irish Parliament will have full control over the Customs, but...

The resolution also dealt with other results of Home Rule

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which would be unfavourable to the Protestant minority, and called first upon the Government and then upon the Presby- terians of Great Britain to save the Presbyterians of...

The Labour Party Conference at Birmingham ended on Friday week,

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when a number of interesting resolutions were passed upon a great variety of topics. Among them was one criticising the Insurance Act in what Mr. Ramsay MacDonald described as "...

Thursday's Times contains an interesting account of the discovery near

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Ipswich by Mr. Moir of the earliest human remains yet found in England. The skeleton was discovered beneath an undisturbed layer of boulder clay, and therefore, if the evidence...

It was announced in Rome on Monday that Monseigneur Duchesne's

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well-known " Histoire Ancienne de l'Eglise" had been put upon the Index. This action on the part of the Vatican comes as the climax of a long campaign of oppression against the...

A very striking Convention, representative of half a million adherents

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of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, was held in Belfast on Thursday to protest against Home Rule and to explain the attitude of the Church on this question. Over 50,000...

On Monday night Mr. Morgan Shuster,•the late Treasurer- General of

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Persia, spoke at a dinner given in his honour by the Persia Committee at the Savoy Hotel. Mr. Shuster described in detail the circumstances of his appointment by the Mejliss as...

Bank Rate, 4 per cont., changed from 3 per cent.

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Sept. 21st. Consols (2i) were on Friday 77i—Friday week 77g.

The Practitioner also issues a very important series of legal

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opinions obtained from Sir Edward Clarke, Mr. W. 0. Danckwerts, and Mr. Stuart Bevan on the six cardinal points under the Insurance scheme. These opinions show clearly how...

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TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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THE RETURN OF THE KING. T O-NIGHT or to-morrow morning King George and Queen Mary return to the land which is specially their own. It is not indeed any foreign journey that they...

MR. BONAR LAW AND THE UNIONIST FREE TRADERS.

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W E have no quarrel 'whatever with Mr. Bonar Law for the manner in which he dealt with the Unionist Free Traders in his Albert Hall speech. Liberals have talked as if there was...

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THE SITUATION IN THE BALKANS.

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I N the course of the next few weeks the winter will come to an end in the Balkans and the psychological moment of the " melting of the snows " will have arrived. It is at this...

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THE GREAT GODDESS TAXATION. D URING the controversy over Mr. Lloyd

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George's first Budget we pointed out the strange cult of taxation which possessed the Liberal Party. Whereas taxation used to be regarded as an evil, even if a necessary evil,...

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THE ABSENCE OF TRAGEDY IN HEBREW LITERATURES. T HE idea of

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verbal inspiration has become a fact of the past, a great fact which moulded men's lives. We cannot quite account for its dominion, we cannot altogether see why it prevailed so...

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THE EDUCATION OF SOME PARENTS. [A LETTER TO A MOTHER.]

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N ATRONA, my dear, I received your last letter and glad I was to get it. The education of all the human race, be they sixteen or sixty-five, is a matter of concern to us all and...

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THE SURREY RILLS.

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I F the student of the outward development of London will take a map he will see that it was always certain that the city on the Thames would develop in a particular way towards...

CORRESPONDENCE.

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THE PROBLEM OF TEE FEEBLE-MINDED. [To rim EDITOR OF see e ssaceseon. a ] Stn,—This problem is, we are told, at last to be grappled with by the Government with a definite...

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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MR. BONAR LAW'S SPEECH. (To Tea EDITOR or THE " Br acrArou."] Sin,—The speech of the new Unionist leader OM% Bonar Law) at the Albert Hall shows how short political memories are...

(TO THE EDITOR OP THE " SFECTATOD..".1

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Siu,—Mr. Bonar Law with the generosity so characteristic of popular orators has offered the Conservative Free Traders the liberty to choose by which sauce they will be...

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MAGYAR ABSOLUTISM IN CROATIA.

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[To TIDO EDITOR Or TEM esezersees."] Srn,—For the past five years the so-called Southern Slav Question has occupied a prominent place among the many internal problems of the...

A GERMAN SATIRIST ON ENGLAND.

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LTO THE EDITOR Or TRU " SPROTATOIL'I Sin,—The Bavarian satirist A. 0. Weber probably reflects the opinion of many of the middle classes in Germany generally, and especially of...

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THE KING'S VISIT TO INDIA..

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[To TRIO EDITOR OP TICS "Erreraroa."J Sin,—The enclosed is an extract from a private letter which I received from a friend in Bombay last Saturday. It is so interesting, and...

INDIA'S MOST PRESSING NEED; A NAVY. [To TRH EDITOR OP

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Via " SPROTATOR..1 SIR, — I have received certain inquiries regarding my letter to you on the above question, to which, with your kind permis- sion, I will endeavour to make a...

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THE NEW PAPAL DECREE.

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[To TER EDITOR or Ti's "SPROTATOR."] Stn,—The Press Agency of the United Irish League, in its letter in the Spectator of January 27th, appropriately quotes from a letter of...

DEMORALIZING LITERATURE. [To TIER EDITOR Or Tni " SPECTATOR. "]

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Sin,—Your issue of January 27th contains a speech delivered by Mr. St. Loe Strachey on introducing to the Home Secretary a deputation on demoralizing literature ; and in your "...

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THE "SPECTATOR" EXPERIMENTAL COMPANY.

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To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTAT0101 SIR,—I venture to think that Mr Bray cannot have read my letter in your issue of January 20th, or else that he must have failed to appreciate...

DR. MARCUS DODS.

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rTo TDB EDITOR Or TUB "SPXOTAT0101 Sit,—In your friendly notice a week ago of Dr. Marcus Dods' "Later Letters" you quote certain words of his, from which it might conceivably...

[TO MI EDITOR, Or Tea "SPROTATOR. H ]

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have front the beginning been interested in the Spectator Experimental Company, and I follow all you have to tell us about the subsequent careers of its members with very great...

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MUSIC •

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SIR HUBERT PARRY ON STYLE. Sin litnEnT PARRY presents the unusual spectacle of a man who has won equal distinction on the creative and the critical sides of his art. He has...

CHARITY ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE : HONORARY SECRETARY WANTED.

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[To Tax EDITOR Or Tax "SrECTATOR."1 SIR, - -We are most anxious to make known our need of secretarial help among the thoughtful and leisured section of the public, and as we...

NOTICE.—When "Correspondence" or Articles are signed with the writer's name

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

POETRY.

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DIANA OF THE EPHESIANS. Amin after hour, when the tidings came, They called on the great Diana's name ; A loud and a long defence they made Of a threatened creed, and a...

"THE CAMBRIDGE MEDIEVAL HISTORY."

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[To TER EDITOR Or TUX " EIrrrTATOR.".1 Sin,—In your review of " The Cambridge Medieval History," vol. i., you find fault with the words of Professor Gwatkin in connexion with...

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BOOKS.

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HENRY FOX, FIRST LORD HOLLAND.* READERS of historical studies of the eighteenth century are familiar with several pictures of Henry Fox, the rival of the elder Pitt and the...

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UNSOUNDNESS OF MIND.• Sin THOMAS CLousToN—the title lately bestowed on

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him gave pleasure to all members of his profession—has written a most excellent book, full of wisdom and of sympathy. He is of the highest authority on all questions relating to...

PITT AND THE GREAT WAR.* Dn. HOLLAND Ross] in the

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present volume traces the career of Pitt from the year 1791 to his death—the years of strife when the reformer and the economist were sunk in the Minister of War. His previous...

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IN THE SOUTH SEAS.*

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Mu. RANNIE entered upon his duties as a Queensland Govern- ment Agent to supervise the labour traffic in June 1884, and held the post for nine years. What he writes is therefore...

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NAPOLEON AND MURAT.*

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Tirs bibliography of the Napoleonic period is rapidly creasing. It requires 120 pages of the " Cambridge Modern History," volume ix., to chronicle a list of the works, and since...

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THE 0013112,GS: 41 ' Tills is a quite lively and entertaining book.

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In saying that it is hardly altogether satisfying, we do not mean to suggest that the author's facts are not to be accepted, but that his work as an historical biographer is se...

THERE are some new novels—not many—where the name of the

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author on the title page is a guarantee of good entertain- ment, and in this agreeable category past experienossinclines us to place the works of Mr. Desmond Coke. And if any...

MONOPOLY AND COMPETITION.*

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Prioresson, Derr in this interesting and ingenious book raises an economic problem of first-rate importance. "Generally speaking," he says, "Englishmen believe in what may be...

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James Hutchison Stirling : his Life and Work. By Amelia

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Hutchison Stirling, M.A. (T. Fisher Unwin. 10s. 6d. not.)— J. H. Stirling wrote, as it is put in this book, where he is com- pared with Carlyle, "for the very few." It is a...

The Protector. By Harold Bindloss. (Ward, Look and Co. Se.)'

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—Mr. Bindloss is always great in the scenery of his novels. This' time Wallace Vane, the hero, is a prospector, who after long years of weary failure makes a lucky hit. The...

READABLII NOVELB.—Merle of the Wessex Hills. By C. IL Hay

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(H. G. Common, Bournemouth. es. ed. not.)—Not much of a story but with some good impressions of country life.—The Wilderness By Joseph Hocking. (Hodder and Stoughton. 3s. 6(1)-1...

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

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[trader this heading we notice such nooks of the week as have not beta reamed for review in other forms.1 The Race Conflict. By W. P. Livingstone. (Sampson Low„ Marston and Co....

The Legacy. By Mary S. Watts. (Macmillan and Co. 6s.)—

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This novel, which bears the sub-title of "A Story of a Woman," is of what we may call the "George Gissing " type of fiction, and may describe as an interesting presentment of...

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James Fraser, Laird of Brea. By the Rev. Principal Whyte,

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D.D. (Oliphant, Anderson and Fortier. 2s. 6d. net.)—James Fraser (1639-1(398) was a Scottish minister and a fervent Covenanter who suffered many things—imprisonment at the Bass...

Blawearie. By the Rev. T. S. Cairnoross. (Hodder and Stough-

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ton. 6s.)—Here we have some scenes from Scottish life in which the minister, Free or Established, or even belonging to some minor Presbyterian body, figures prominently. Ile...

Memories of a School Inspector. By A. J. Swinburno. (McDougall.

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2s. 6d. net.)—In his thirty-five years of work as an inspector of primary schools Mr. Swinburne saw some important changes of administration, and it would have been well if ho...

Nishot's Church. Directory and Abnanac. (James Nisbet and Co 2e.

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net), with its 742 Pages, closely printed, but not difficult. to read, gives lists of the clergy and of benefices, with other informa- tion, brought into a very small compass.